Skip to main content
Search
Search
    Quick Search anywhere
    Quick search in Citations
Advanced Search
Skip main navigationClose Drawer MenuOpen Drawer Menu
Previous article
Next article

A Reliability Generalization Study for a Multidimensional Loneliness Scale

The Loneliness and Aloneness Scale for Children and Adolescents

Published Online:February 27, 2015https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759/a000237

Abstract

Abstract. Research on the average reliability and factors that affect the reliability of loneliness scales has been restricted to unidimensional measures. A reliability generalization (RG) study was conducted for a multidimensional loneness measure, that is, the Loneliness and Aloneness Scale for Children and Adolescents (LACA). Multilevel meta-analyses were performed on 79 studies that comprised 92 samples (for a total of 41,076 participants). Average reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) across samples was good (i.e., .80 or above) for all four subscales. Studies with higher sampling quality yielded slightly higher alphas for one of the subscales (i.e., Parent-related loneliness). For adolescents, as compared to children, alphas were somewhat lower for three of the four subscales and higher for the Affinity for aloneness subscale. Suggestions for future research are outlined. From a reliability perspective, the LACA is a good option for researchers who want to use a multidimensional loneliness measure with children and adolescents.

References

  • Bonett, D. G. (2010). Varying coefficient meta-analytic methods for alpha reliability. Psychological Methods, 15, 368–385. doi: 10.1037/a0020142 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Borenstein, M., Hedges, L. V., Higgins, J. P. & Rothstein, H. R. (2011). Introduction to meta-analysis. New York, NY: Wiley. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Cronbach, L. J. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 16, 297–334. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • DiTommaso, E. & Spinner, B. (1993). The development and initial validation of the Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults (SELSA). Personality and Individual Differences, 14, 127–134. doi: 0.1016/0191-8869(93)90182-3 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Duval, S. & Tweedie, R. (2000). A nonparametric “trim and fill” method of accounting for publication bias in meta-analysis. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 95, 89–98. doi: 10.2307/2669529 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Goossens L.Ed.. (2013). Leuvense Eenzaamheidsschaal voor Kinderen en Adolescenten: Handleiding [Loneliness and Aloneness Scale for Children and Adolescents: Manual]. Unpublished manuscript, Department of School Psychology and Child and Adolescent Development (SCAD), KU Leuven, Belgium. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Hedges, L. V., Tipton, E. & Johnson, M. C. (2010). Robust variance estimation in meta-regression with dependent effect size estimates. Research Synthesis Methods, 1, 39–65. doi: 10.1002/jrsm.5 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Heinrich, L. A. & Gullone, E. (2006). The clinical significance of loneliness: A literature review. Clinical Psychology Review, 26, 695–718. doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2006.04.002 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Hox, J. (2002). Multilevel analysis: Techniques and applications. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Larson, R. W. (1997). The emergence of solitude as a constructive domain of experience in early adolescence. Child Development, 68, 80–93. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1997.tb01927.x First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Littell, R. C., Milliken, G. A., Stroup, W. W., Wolfinger, R. & Schabenberger, O. (2006). Sas® for mixed models (2nd ed.). Cary, NC: SAS Institute. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Marcoen, A. & Goossens, L. (1993). Loneliness, attitude toward aloneness, and solitude: Age differences and developmental significance during adolescence. In S. JacksonH. Rodriguez-TomeEds., Adolescence and its social worlds (pp. 197–227). Hove, UK: Erlbaum. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Marcoen, A., Goossens, L. & Caes, P. (1987). Loneliness in pre through late adolescence: Exploring the contributions of a multidimensional approach. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 16, 561–577. doi: 10.1007/bf02138821 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • O’Brien, R. M. (2007). A caution regarding rules of thumb for variance inflation factors. Quality and Quantity, 41, 673–690. doi: 10.1007/s11135-006-9018-6 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Perlman, D. & Peplau, L. A. (1981). Toward a social psychology of loneliness. In S. DuckR. GilmourEds., Personal relationships in disorder (Vol. 3, pp. 31–56). London, UK: Academic Press. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Qualter, P., Brown, S. L., Munn, P. & Rotenberg, K. J. (2010). Childhood loneliness as a predictor of adolescent depressive symptoms: An 8-year longitudinal study. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 19, 493–501. doi: 10.1007/s00787-009-0059-y First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Raudenbush, S. W. & Bryk, A. S. (2002). Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods (2nd ed.). London, UK: Sage. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Rodriguez, M. C. & Maeda, Y. (2006). Meta-analysis of coefficient alpha. Psychological Methods, 11, 306–322. doi: 10.1037/1082-989x.11.3.306 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Russell, D. (1982). The measurement of loneliness. In L. A. PeplauD. PerlmanEds., Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory, research and therapy (pp. 81–104). New York, NY: Wiley. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Russell, D., Peplau, L. A. & Cutrona, C. E. (1980). The revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: Concurrent and discriminant validity evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 472–480. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.39.3.472 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Sánchez‐Meca, J., López‐López, J. A. & López‐Pina, J. A. (2013). Some recommended statistical analytic practices when reliability generalization studies are conducted. The British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology, . doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8317.2012.02057.x First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Satterthwaite, F. E. (1946). An approximate distribution of estimates of variance components. Biometrics Bulletin, 2, 110–114. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Schmidt, N. & Sermat, V. (1983). Measuring loneliness in different relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44, 1038–1047. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.44.5.1038 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Thompson, B. (1992). Two and a half decades of leadership in measurement and evaluation. Journal of Counseling and Development, 70, 434–438. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Thompson, B. (2003). Understanding reliability and coefficient alpha, really. In B. ThompsonEd., Score reliability: Contemporary thinking on reliability issues (pp. 3–23). California, CA: Sage. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Vacha-Haase, T. (1998). Reliability generalization: Exploring variance in measurement error affecting score reliability across studies. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 58, 6–20. doi: 10.1177/0013164498058001002 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Vacha-Haase, T. & Thompson, B. (2011). Score reliability: A retrospective look back at 12 years of reliability generalization studies. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 44, 159–168. doi: 10.1177/0748175611409845 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Van den Noortgate, W., López-López, J. A., Marín-Martínez, F. & Sánchez-Meca, J. (2013). Three-level meta-analysis of dependent effect sizes. Behavior Research Methods, 45, 576–594. doi: 10.3758/s13428-012-0261-6 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Van den Noortgate, W. & Onghena, P. (2003). Multilevel meta-analysis: A comparison with traditional meta-analytical procedures. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 63, 765–790. doi: 10.1177/0013164402251027 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Vassar, M. & Crosby, J. W. (2008). A reliability generalization study of coefficient alpha for the UCLA Loneliness Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 90, 601–607. doi: 10.1080/00223890802388624 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Yin, P. & Fan, X. (2000). Assessing the reliability of Beck Depression Inventory scores: Reliability generalization across studies. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 60, 201–223. doi: 10.1177/00131640021970466 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar