Abstract:
The UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS-20) and its short version (ULS-8) are widely used to
measure loneliness. However, the question remains whether or not previous studies
using the scale to measure loneliness are measuring the construct equally across
countries. The present study examined the measurement invariance (MI) of both scales
in Germany, Indonesia, and the United States (N = 2350). The one-, two-, and three-factor
structure of the ULS-20 did not meet the model fit cut-off criteria in the total sample. The
ULS-8 met the model fit cut-off criteria and has configural, but not metric invariance
because two items unrelated to social isolation were not MI. The final six items (ULS-6)
exclusively related to social isolation had complete MI. Participants from the United
States scored highest in the ULS-6, followed by participants from Germany and then
Indonesia. We conclude that the ULS-6 is an appropriate measure for cross-cultural
studies on loneliness.
Keywords: loneliness, cross-cultural, confirmatory factor analysis, measurement
invariance, UCLA Loneliness Scale, social isolation
