title: A factor analytic study of the loneliness and social dissatisfaction scale in a sample of African-American and Hispanic-American children.
abstract: This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction Scale (LSDS) in a sample of African-American and Hispanic-American children. Participants were a non-clinical sample ( N = 186) of children ages 11 to 13 in the fifth and sixth grades in a school in the Metropolitan New York area. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed a two-factor model fits the sample data better than a one-factor model. Internal consistencies were acceptable across the two factors, and convergent validity of the LSDS was supported by a moderately positive relation with a self-report measure of depressive symptomatology. In a structural equation model, ethnicity, grade, and gender predicted little variance in each LSDS factor, suggesting little measure bias. These preliminary findings suggest that the LSDS is a psychometrically sound instrument for African-American and Hispanic-American children, yet future inspection of its factor structure in more diverse samples of children is warranted.
authors.affiliation: University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA. dbagner@hp.ufl.edu
authors.forename: Daniel M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Bagner
authors.forename: Eric A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Storch
authors.forename: Jonathan W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Roberti
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008132:Loneliness / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011594:Psychometrics; D012928:Social Desirability; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires