title: [Reliability and validity of ULS-8 loneliness scale in elderly samples in a rural community].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the reliability and validity of the short-form of the UCLA loneliness scale (ULS-8) among Chinese rural community-dwelling elderly.
  
  
  METHODS
  ULS-8 was used for 839 Chinese rural community-dwelling elderly during face-to-face interviews.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After deleting item-3 (I am an outgoing person) and item-6 (I can find companionship when I want it), the exploratory factor analysis showed that the construction of the new scale (ULS-6) fit the original construction of ULS-8, a single-factor resolution. Cronbach's α coefficient of ULS-6 was 0.831. Test-retest reliability was 0.715. All item-total correlations reached statistical significance. The total score of ULS-6 was correlated to quality of life, social support, suicidal ideation, and current major depression episode.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ULS-6 shows satisfactory reliability and validity and meets the needs of psychometric properties, and can be used for the evaluation of loneliness among Chinese rural elderly.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine and Health Management, School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha 410078, China. zhouliang1976@gmail.com
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Zhi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Mi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Shuiyuan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xiao
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002681:China; D003153:Community Health Services; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008132:Loneliness / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012424:Rural Population; D012494:Sampling Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires