UCLA Loneliness Studies
Peplau, L. A., & Caldwell, M. (1978). Loneliness: A cognitive analysis. Essence, 2(4), 207-220. [PDF]
Peplau, L. A., & Perlman, D. (1979). Blueprint for a social psychological theory of loneliness. In M. Cook & G. Wilson (Eds.), Love and attraction (pp. 99-108). Oxford, England: Pergamon. [PDF]
Peplau, L. A., Russell, D., & Heim, M. (1979). The experience of loneliness. In I. H. Frieze, D. Bar-Tal, & J. S. Carroll (Eds.), New approaches to social problems: Applications of attribution theory (pp. 53-78). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. [PDF]
Rubenstein, C., Shaver, P., & Peplau, L. A. (1979, Feb.). Loneliness. Human Nature, 58-65. [PDF]
Russell, D., Peplau, L. A., & Cutrona, C. E. (1980). The revised UCLA loneliness scale: Concurrent and discriminant validity evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39(3), 472-480. [PDF]
For a version in Spanish, see: Morejon, A. J. V., & Garcia-Boveda, R. J. (1994). RULS: Escale de soledad UCLA revisada. Fiabilidad y validez de una version espanola. Revista de Psicologia de la Salud, 6(1), 45-54.
Weeks, D. G., Michela, J. L., Peplau, L. A., & Bragg, M. E. (1980). The relation between loneliness and depression: A structural equation analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39(6), 1238- 1244. [PDF]
Perlman, D., & Peplau, L. A. (1981). Toward a social psychology of loneliness. In S. Duck & R. Gilmour (Eds.), Personal relationships in disorder (pp. 31-56). London: Academic Press. [PDF]
Peplau, L. A. (1982). Review of “The Anatomy of Loneliness” and “In Search of Intimacy.” Journal of Psychosocial Nursing, 20(11), 38-39. [PDF]
Peplau, L. A., & Perlman, D. (Eds.) (1982). Loneliness: A sourcebook of current theory,research and therapy. New York: Wiley-Interscience. [PDF]
Peplau, L. A., & Perlman, D. (1982). Perspectives on loneliness. In L. A. Peplau & D. Perlman (Eds.), Loneliness (pp. 1-18). New York: Wiley. [PDF]
Peplau, L. A., Miceli, M., & Morasch, B. (1982). Loneliness and self evaluation. In L. A. Peplau & D. Perlman (Eds.), Loneliness (pp. 135-151). New York: Wiley. [PDF]
Peplau, L. A., Bikson, T. K., Rook, K. S., & Goodchilds, J. D. (1982). Being old and living alone. In L. A. Peplau & D. Perlman (Eds.), Loneliness (pp. 327-347). New York: Wiley. [PDF]
Perlman, D., & Peplau, L. A. (1982). Theoretical approaches to loneliness. In L. A. Peplau & D. Perlman (Eds.), Loneliness (pp. 123-134). New York: Wiley. [PDF]
Rook, K. S., & Peplau, L. A. (1982). Perspectives on helping the lonely. In L. A. Peplau & D. Perlman (Eds.), Loneliness (pp. 351-378). New York: Wiley. [PDF]
Berg, J., & Peplau, L. A. (1982). Loneliness: The relationship of self-disclosure and androgyny. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 8(4), 624-630. [PDF]
Michela, J. L., Peplau, L. A., & Weeks, D. G. (1982). Perceived dimensions of attributions for loneliness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 43(5), 929-936. [PDF]
Peplau, L.A., & Goldston, S. E. (Eds.) (1984). Preventing the harmful consequences of severe and persistent loneliness. DHHS Publication No. (ADM) 84-1312. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office (Monograph). [PDF]
Perlman, D., & Peplau, L. A. (1984). Loneliness research: A survey of empirical findings. In L. A. Peplau & S. E. Goldston (Eds.), Preventing the harmful consequences of severe and persistent loneliness (pp 13-46). DHHS Publication No. (ADM) 84-1312. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. [PDF]
Peplau, L. A. (1985). Loneliness research: Basic concepts and findings. In I. G. Sarason & B. R. Sarason (Eds.), Social support: Theory, research and application (pp. 270-286). Boston: Martinus Nijhof. [PDF]
Peplau, L. A. (1987). Loneliness and the college student. In I. Z. Rubin & E. McNeil. The psychology of being human: Brief/update, 4th Ed. (pp. 475-479). New York: Harper & Row. [PDF]
Peplau, L. A. (1988). Loneliness: New directions in research. Participate in the challenge of mental health and psychiatric nursing in 1988 (pp. 127-142). [Proceedings of the 3rd National Conference on Psychiatric Nursing, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.] [PDF]
Perlman, D., & Peplau, L. A. (1998). Loneliness. In H. S. Friedman (Ed.), Encyclopedia of mental health, Vol. 2 (pp. 571-581). San Diego, CA: Academic Press. [PDF]
Russell, D. W. (1996). UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3): Reliability, validity, and factor structure. Journal of Personality Assessment, 66(1), 20-40. [PDF]
The UCLA Loneliness Scale
Students and researchers do not need permission to use use the UCLA Loneliness Scale for non-profit research purposes may do so without permission. A copy is reproduced below.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE SURVEY
Indicate how often you have felt the way described in each statement using the following scale:
4 indicates “I have felt this way often.”
3 indicates “I have felt this way sometimes.” 2 indicates “I have felt this way rarely.”
1 indicates “I have never felt this way.”
Never | Rarely | Sometimes | Often | ||
| 1 | I feel in tune with the people around me | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 2 | I lack companionship | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 3 | There is no one I can turn to | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | I do not feel alone | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 5 | I feel part of a group of friends | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 6 | I have a lot in common with the people around me | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 7 | I am no longer close to anyone | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 8 | My interests and ideas are not shared by those around me | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 9 | I am an outgoing person | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 10 | There are people I feel close to | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 11 | I feel left out | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 12 | My social relationships are superficial | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 13 | No one really knows me well | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 14 | I feel isolated from others | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 15 | I can find companionship when I want it | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 16 | There are people who really understand me | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
Russell, D., Peplau, L. A., & Cutrona, C. E. (1980). The revised UCLA loneliness scale: Concurrent and discriminant validity evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39(3), 472-480. [PDF]
For a version in Spanish, see: Morejon, A. J. V., & Garcia-Boveda, R. J. (1994). RULS: Escale de soledad UCLA revisada. Fiabilidad y validez de una version espanola. Revista de Psicologia de la Salud, 6(1), 45-54.
Russell, D. W. (1996). UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3): Reliability, validity, and factor structure. Journal of Personality Assessment, 66(1), 20-40. [PDF]
Hughes, M. E., Waite, L. J., Hawkley, L. C., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2004). A short scale for measuring loneliness in large surveys: Results from two population-based studies. Research on Aging, 26(6), 655-672. This presents a 3-item scale designed for use in telephone surveys. [PDF]
