ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health2022
Using a Loneliness Measure to Screen for Risk of Mental Health Problems: A Replication in Two Nationally Representative Cohorts.
Article in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 41 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of 28-day simvastatin administration on emotional processing, reward learning, working memory, and salivary cortisol in healthy participants at-risk for depression: OxSTEP, an online experimental medicine trial.Psychological medicine · 2025Trial
- Exploring the impact of waiting time on physical function and psychosocial measures in individuals with lower limb osteoarthritis awaiting orthopaedic consultation.Journal of health psychology · 2026Article
- Prevalence of Loneliness and Social Isolation by Demographic, Socioeconomic, and Other Factors: Estimates From the 2024 Household Pulse Survey.Community mental health journal · 2026Article
- Differences in Assessing Loneliness Among Japanese Older Adults: A Comparison of Family Physicians and Nurses.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- The association between loneliness and quality of life in cancer survivors: All of Us research program.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Toward a transdiagnostic modifier for clinically significant loneliness in psychiatry: a conceptual mini review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Review
- Detecting loneliness among late adolescents: Validation and testing of a detection tool based on the UCLA Loneliness Scale.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2025Article
- Trajectories of loneliness, social isolation, and depressive symptoms before and after onset of pain in middle-aged and older adults.EClinicalMedicine · 2025Article
- Critical Review of Neurobiological Evidence for Relationships Between Social Isolation, Loneliness and the Risk of Developing of Alzheimer's Disease: A New Model.Journal of aging research · 2025Review
- Addressing loneliness in emerging adults in primary care: a pilot feasibility study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- The impact of social exclusion on experiential sports consumption: the chain mediating roles of loneliness and the need for social connection.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Psychological distress, loneliness, and satisfaction with life during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal study comparing migrants and non-migrants in Norway.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- The Impact of Digital Mental Health Services on Loneliness and Mental Health: Results from a Prospective, Observational Study.International journal of behavioral medicine · 2024Observational
- Intergenerational continuity of loneliness and potential mechanisms: Young Finns Multigenerational Study.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Associations between water insecurity and mental health outcomes among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer persons in Bangkok, Thailand and Mumbai, India: Cross-sectional survey findings.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2024Article
- Reevaluating hikikomori and challenging loneliness assumptions in Japan: A cross-sectional analysis of a nationwide internet sample.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- Connecting psychosocial and personality characteristics with mental health outcomes. An Italian co-twin control study.Preventive medicine reports · 2024Article
- [Reliability and validity of the 6-item UCLA Loneliness Scale(ULS-6)for application in adults].Nan fang yi ke da xue xue bao = Journal of Southern Medical University · 2023Article
- Article
- The Buffering Role of Self-compassion in the Association Between Loneliness with Depressive Symptoms: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study Among Older Adults Living in Residential Care Homes During COVID-19.International journal of mental health and addiction · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundLoneliness co-occurs alongside many mental health problems and is associated with poorer treatment outcomes. It could therefore be a phenomenon of interest to clinicians as an indicator of generalised risk for psychopathology. The present study tested whether a short measure of loneliness can accurately classify individuals who are at increased risk of common mental health problems.
methodsData were drawn from two nationally representative cohorts: the age-18 wave of the UK-based Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study and the age-38 wave of the New Zealand-based Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study. In both cohorts, loneliness was assessed using the three-item UCLA Loneliness Scale, plus two stand-alone items about feeling alone and feeling lonely. Outcome measures consisted of diagnoses of depression and anxiety and self-reports of self-harm/suicide attempts, assessed via a structured interview.
resultsROC curve analysis showed that the Loneliness Scale had fair accuracy in classifying individuals meeting criteria for all three outcomes, with a cut-off score of 5 (on a scale from 3 to 9) having the strongest empirical support. Both of the stand-alone items showed modest sensitivity and specificity but were more limited in their flexibility. The findings were replicated across the two cohorts, indicating that they are applicable both to younger and older adults. In addition, the accuracy of the loneliness scale in detecting mental health problems was comparable to a measure of poor sleep quality, a phenomenon which is often included in screening tools for depression and anxiety.
conclusionsThese findings indicate that a loneliness measure could have utility in mental health screening contexts, as well as in research.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.