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Screening for loneliness in representative population samples: Validation of a single-item measure

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  • Anna Celine Reinwarth
  • Mareike Ernst
  • Lina Krakau
  • Elmar Brähler
  • Manfred E Beutel

Abstract

Background: Loneliness is a highly relevant public mental health issue. This work presents the validation of a single-item measure of loneliness and its subjective experience: “I am frequently alone/have few contacts”. It can be used in large-scale population surveys where an economical assessment is of key importance. Methods: Data was drawn from two representative German population surveys conducted in early and late 2020 (combined N = 4,984; 52.9% women; age: M = 48.39 years (SD = 17.88)). We determined the prevalence of loneliness in men and women across different age groups. In order to test concurrent validity, bivariate correlation analyses and Chi-square tests were performed. Convergent and discriminant validity were tested by investigating intercorrelations of the single-item measure of loneliness with another loneliness measure, other mental health outcomes, and associations with sociodemographic characteristics. Results: Based on the single-item measure, 23.4% of participants reported some degree of loneliness, 3.4% among them severe loneliness. Comparisons with the LS-S showed similar prevalence rates of loneliness. A moderately positive relationship between the two loneliness measures was found by bivariate correlation analysis (ρ = .57, p

Suggested Citation

  • Anna Celine Reinwarth & Mareike Ernst & Lina Krakau & Elmar Brähler & Manfred E Beutel, 2023. "Screening for loneliness in representative population samples: Validation of a single-item measure," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(3), pages 1-15, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0279701
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0279701
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