Would the Real Loneliness Please Stand Up? The Validity of Loneliness Scores and the Reliability of Single-Item Scores
Open accessAbstract
Several measures that assess loneliness have been developed for adults. Across three studies, we investigated psychometric features of scores of different versions of the Rasch-Type Loneliness Scale, the University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale, and three single-item measures. In Study 1 ( N = 697 self-ratings, N = 282 informant-ratings of 160 targets) and Study 2 ( N = 1,216 individuals from 608 couples), we investigated convergent validity, self-informant agreement, and nomological nets of the item scores using correlates related to demographic aspects, personality, satisfaction, and network characteristics. In Study 3 ( N = 411), we estimated a reliability of r x x > . 70 for scores of three single-item measures of loneliness. Overall, scores of all measures and their nomological nets were highly correlated within and across studies, indicating that the scores of the included measures are all reliable and valid. Recommendations for choosing a loneliness measure are discussed.
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Self-reported measures of loneliness have been shown to be equally reliable and valid as other forms of assessment.
“Nevertheless, self-reported measures of loneliness have been shown to be equally reliable and valid as other forms of assessment [101].”
From The prospective association of adolescent loneliness and low resilience with anxiety and depression in young adulthood: The HUNT study (2025) · cites this paper as [101]
Study 1’s Results and Discussion report high agreement between self-ratings and informant-ratings and conclude that the instruments studied can assess loneliness from either perspective. Study 2 also describes the included measures as valid and reliable in adults, but the paper does not establish that self-reports are equally reliable and valid as all other forms of assessment; it notes an exception for one measure’s partner-ratings. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe single-item loneliness measure has high correlations with multiple-item loneliness measures.
“this single-item loneliness measure has high correlations with multiple-item loneliness measures [24]”
From Factors associated with loneliness in a national study among persons 80 years and older in India in 2017-2018 (2025) · cites this paper as [24]
Loneliness was measured at ages 10, 12, 14, and 16 using a single item from the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire, and this single-item measure correlates well with multi-item measures such as the University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale.
“Loneliness was measured at ages 10, 12, 14, and 16 years using a single item from the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire.”
From Predictors of chronic loneliness during adolescence: a population-based cohort study (2022) · cites this paper as [25]
The single-item measure of loneliness correlates well with multi-item scales, such as the UCLA Loneliness Scale.
“However, this single-item measure correlates well with multi-item scales, such as the University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale [25, 26].”
From Predictors of chronic loneliness during adolescence: a population-based cohort study (2022) · cites this paper as [25]
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The Latent Structure of Loneliness
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Lonely Me, Lonely You: Loneliness and the Longitudinal Course of Relationship Satisfaction
Mund, M., & Johnson, M. D. (2020) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-020-00241-9 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
Self-citationCole, A. R., Bond, C., Qualter, P., & Maes, M. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18063285 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
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I'm lonely, can't you tell? Convergent validity of self- and informant ratings of loneliness
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Predicting loneliness with polygenic scores of social, psychological and psychiatric traits
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Natural language indicators of differential gene regulation in the human immune system
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Owner of a lonely heart: The stability of loneliness across the life span.
Mund, M., Lüdtke, O., & Neyer, F. J. (2019) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/pspp0000262 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Self-citationPsychometric Properties of the Hebrew Version of the de Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale
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Intimate and Relational Loneliness in Adolescence
Maes, M., Vanhalst, J., Noortgate, W. V. D., & Goossens, L. (2017) · Journal of Child and Family Studies · doi:10.1007/s10826-017-0722-8 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Self-citationMcDanal, R., Schleider, J. L., Fox, K. R., & Eaton, N. R. (2021) · Assessment · doi:10.1177/10731911211065167 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Loneliness and hostility in older adults: A cross-lagged model.
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Mund, M., Weidmann, R., Wrzus, C., Johnson, M. D., Bühler, J. L., Burriss, R. P., Wünsche, J., & Grob, A. (2020) · International Journal of Behavioral Development · doi:10.1177/0165025420951246 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
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Multitrait–multimethod matrix validation of the Negative Mood Regulation Scale
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Loneliness and social behaviours in a virtual social environment
Luhmann, M., Schönbrodt, F. D., Hawkley, L. C., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2014) · Cognition & Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699931.2014.922053 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
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Spotting Loneliness at School: Associations between Self-Reports and Teacher and Peer Nominations
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Loneliness in Partner Relationships: A Dyadic Examination of Short- and Long-Term DynamicsPreprint
Mund, M., & Drewke, P. M. (2020) · doi:10.17605/osf.io/nkcj7 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Self-citation
Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Rubenstein C. M. Shaver P. (1980). Loneliness in two northeastern cities. In Hartog J. Audy R. (Eds.), The anatomy of loneliness (pp. 319– 337). International University Press.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Stegen, H., Duppen, D., Savieri, P., Stas, L., Pan, H., Aartsen, M., Callewaert, H., Dierckx, E., & De Donder, L. (2024) · International Psychogeriatrics · doi:10.1017/s1041610224000425 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Predictors of chronic loneliness during adolescence: a population-based cohort study
Hosozawa, M., Cable, N., Yamasaki, S., Ando, S., Endo, K., Usami, S., Nakanishi, M., Niimura, J., Nakajima, N., Baba, K., et al. (2022) · Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health · doi:10.1186/s13034-022-00545-z · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Kiuru, N., Salmela-Aro, K., Laursen, B., Vasalampi, K., Beattie, M., Tunkkari, M., & Junttila, N. (2025) · Child Psychiatry & Human Development · doi:10.1007/s10578-024-01664-8 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Hajek, A., Gyasi, R. M., & König, H.-H. (2024) · Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics · doi:10.1016/j.archger.2024.105443 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Pengpid, S., Peltzer, K., Hajek, A., & Gyasi, R. M. (2025) · International Psychogeriatrics · doi:10.1016/j.inpsyc.2024.100019 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Parlikar, N., Strand, L. B., Kvaløy, K., Espnes, G. A., & Moksnes, U. K. (2025) · Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology · doi:10.1007/s00127-025-02888-2 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“Nevertheless, self-reported measures of loneliness have been shown to be equally reliable and valid as other forms of assessment [101].”
Gniewosz, G. (2023) · Journal of Youth and Adolescence · doi:10.1007/s10964-023-01808-4 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
“However, a single indicator can be an adequate replacement for a larger scale and is widely used (Mund et al., 2019; Mund et al., 2022).”
BackgroundMethod
- Authors
- Mund, M., Maes, M., Drewke, P. M., Gutzeit, A., Jaki, I., & Qualter, P.
- Affiliations
- University of Klagenfurt (AT)
- Utrecht University (NL)
- Friedrich Schiller University Jena (DE)
- University of Manchester (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Mund, Marcus
- Venue
- Assessment
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2022-03-04
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 1226-1248
- ISSN
- 1073-1911 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-3489
- PMC
- PMC10149889
- OpenAlex
- W4220804356
- Cited by
- 192
- References
- 124
- Citations by year
- 2026: 50 · 2025: 54 · 2024: 57 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 9
- FWCI
- 21.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Assessment (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Lirias (KU Leuven) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Common Library Network (Der Gemeinsame Bibliotheksverbund) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (MU 4338/1-1)
- Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena (DRM/2017-06)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Keywords
- loneliness, loneliness measurement, UCLA Loneliness Scale, convergent validity, nomological network, reliability statistics, personality, social networks, couples
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Humans, Loneliness, Personality, Psychometrics, Surveys and Questionnaires, Reproducibility of Results
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
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