A Taxometric Analysis of the Three-Item UCLA Loneliness Scale in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project
Abstract
Loneliness is a well-established risk factor for physical and mental health in later life. This work responds to recent calls to examine the dimensionality of the UCLA Loneliness Scale among older adults. In a preregistered secondary analysis using three measurement occasions from the publicly available National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), we applied taxometric analyses (i.e., mean above minus below a cut, maximum eigenvalue, latent mode factor analysis, and comparison curve fit index) to examine the latent structure of the 3-item UCLA Loneliness Scale. Results supported the preregistered hypothesis, showing the mean comparison curve fit index (CCFI) was below 0.45 on each measurement occasion (CCFI range: 0.23 – 0.35). Therefore, loneliness, as measured in this sample, likely follows a continuous rather than categorical distribution, with no clear cut point. These findings inform statistical decision-making regarding loneliness classification and use of this scale in this sample.
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BibTeX
@misc{boyd2026taxometric,
title = {{A Taxometric Analysis of the Three-Item UCLA Loneliness Scale in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project}},
author = {Savannah Marie Boyd and David Sbarra},
howpublished = {PsyArXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.31234/osf.io/mvuxd_v1},
url = {https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/mvuxd_v1/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - A Taxometric Analysis of the Three-Item UCLA Loneliness Scale in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project
AU - Savannah Marie Boyd
AU - David Sbarra
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
PB - PsyArXiv
DO - 10.31234/osf.io/mvuxd_v1
UR - https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/mvuxd_v1/
AB - Loneliness is a well-established risk factor for physical and mental health in later life. This work responds to recent calls to examine the dimensionality of the UCLA Loneliness Scale among older adults. In a preregistered secondary analysis using three measurement occasions from the publicly available National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), we applied taxometric analyses (i.e., mean above minus below a cut, maximum eigenvalue, latent mode factor analysis, and comparison curve fit index) to examine the latent structure of the 3-item UCLA Loneliness Scale. Results supported the preregistered hypothesis, showing the mean comparison curve fit index (CCFI) was below 0.45 on each measurement occasion (CCFI range: 0.23 – 0.35). Therefore, loneliness, as measured in this sample, likely follows a continuous rather than categorical distribution, with no clear cut point. These findings inform statistical decision-making regarding loneliness classification and use of this scale in this sample.
ER -