Siguenza Campoverde Wilson Guillermo, Chamba Leiva Katy Maricela
Department of Psychology, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, Loja, Ecuador.
PLoS One. 2025 Aug 4;20(8):e0328163. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0328163. eCollection 2025.
Loneliness has a significant impact on mental and physical health across different stages of development, with particularly evident effects during adolescence. During this period, young individuals undergo substantial social and emotional transformations, making loneliness a global concern.
This study aimed to analyze the psychometric properties of the UCLA-R Loneliness Scale in Ecuadorian adolescents through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, assess its internal consistency, and examine factorial invariance across genders.
The sample consisted of 718 school-aged adolescents (288 males and 430 females) aged 14-17 years (M = 15.72, SD = 0.747), selected through probabilistic sampling. A sociodemographic ad hoc questionnaire and the Spanish version of the 20-item UCLA-R Loneliness Scale were administered. The sample was randomly divided into two equivalent subsamples (n = 359) to separately perform an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The EFA was conducted using principal axis factoring, oblique rotation, and polychoric correlations. The CFA evaluated one-factor, two-factor, and three-factor models, employing fit indices such as CFI, TLI, RMSEA, and SRMR. Internal consistency was estimated using Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega coefficients. Additionally, factorial invariance analyses by gender were performed, along with a univariate ANOVA to examine potential gender differences.
The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) results indicated the presence of two factors, whose structure explains 40.8% of the total variance, with 19 items. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed that the bifactor model with 19 items exhibited a superior fit compared to the unidimensional and three-factor models with 20 items, with fit indices falling within acceptable to excellent ranges (CFI = .936, TLI = .927, RMSEA = .050, SRMR = .048). Additionally, the bifactor model demonstrated measurement invariance across genders. Regarding internal consistency, the scale demonstrated a Cronbach's alpha of.876 and an omega coefficient of.83, confirming its reliability.
It is concluded that the 19-item UCLA-R Loneliness Scale is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing perceived loneliness in Ecuadorian adolescents, regardless of gender. Future research could replicate these findings in other regions and cultural contexts to validate its use on a larger scale.
孤独感在不同发展阶段对身心健康都有重大影响，在青春期尤其明显。在此期间，年轻人经历了巨大的社会和情感转变，使孤独感成为一个全球关注的问题。
本研究旨在通过探索性和验证性因素分析，分析厄瓜多尔青少年中UCLA-R孤独感量表的心理测量特性，评估其内部一致性，并检验不同性别的因素不变性。
样本由718名14至17岁的学龄青少年（288名男性和430名女性）组成（M = 15.72，SD = 0.747），通过概率抽样选取。发放了一份社会人口学特设问卷和20项UCLA-R孤独感量表的西班牙语版本。样本被随机分为两个相等的子样本（n = 359），分别进行探索性因素分析（EFA）和验证性因素分析（CFA）。EFA采用主轴因子法、斜交旋转和多列相关进行。CFA评估单因素、双因素和三因素模型，使用CFI、TLI、RMSEA和SRMR等拟合指数。使用克朗巴哈α系数和麦克唐纳ω系数估计内部一致性。此外，进行了按性别进行的因素不变性分析，以及单因素方差分析以检验潜在的性别差异。
探索性因素分析（EFA）结果表明存在两个因素，其结构解释了总方差的40.8%，共19个项目。验证性因素分析（CFA）证实，与20项的单维模型和三因素模型相比，19项的双因素模型具有更好的拟合度，拟合指数落在可接受至优秀的范围内（CFI = 0.936，TLI = 0.927，RMSEA = 0.050，SRMR = 0.048）。此外，双因素模型在不同性别间表现出测量不变性。关于内部一致性，该量表的克朗巴哈α系数为0.876，ω系数为0.83，证实了其可靠性。
得出结论，19项UCLA-R孤独感量表是评估厄瓜多尔青少年感知孤独感的有效且可靠的工具，无论性别如何。未来的研究可以在其他地区和文化背景下重复这些发现，以在更大范围内验证其用途。
