PSYCHOMETRIC INDICATORS OF THE SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LONELINESS SCALE FOR ADULTS - SHORT VERSION (SELSA-S) IN BULGARIA

Abstract

This article examines the psychometric indicators of  Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults, the short version (SELSA-S; DiTommaso, Brannen, & Best, 2004). The scale contains 15 items, divided into three scales: social loneliness, emotional loneliness, and romantic loneliness. The survey was attended by 1713 persons over 60 years of which were 1042 women and 671 men; and 383 of whom were in early-to-middle adulthood (20-55 years). The results showed high-reliability ratios for both the full scale (α = 0.825) and the three subscales (α = 0.727-0.845) versions. The factor analysis showed a four-factor structure of the scale. There were also statistically significant correlations between the three subscales. It was found that social and emotional loneliness had the strongest influence among older people. Therefore, it was necessary to create more opportunities for satisfactory communication, forms, and functioning of social contacts. It was found that the romantic loneliness had the strongest influence on younger people, i.e., they experienced significantly the lack of a partner by them or dissatisfaction with him.