Scale Analysis

The Scale for Overall Emotional and Social Loneliness (OESL-11) was developed and applied to new data by Jenny de Jong Gierveld and Theo van Tilburg in 2006.

Objective

The main objective of the Scale is to explain why some individuals with a small number of social interactions are considered lonely, while others feel fine and fully integrated. Specifically, loneliness is viewed as an indicator of social well-being and is associated either with the feeling of lacking a close relationship (emotional loneliness) or with the absence of a broader social network (social loneliness).

Item Calibration

The OESL-11 consists of 11 items, which respondents are asked to answer based on the degree of loneliness they feel at the time of completing the questionnaire. The scoring ranges from 0 (no loneliness) to 6 (severe loneliness).

Statistical Analysis

The total loneliness score ranged from 0 to 6, with a mean of 1.5. Emotional loneliness had a mean score of 0.6, while social loneliness had a mean of 0.9.

Validity and Reliability

The reliability coefficients for the scale ranged between 0.70 and 0.76, indicating a fairly reliable instrument. Researchers may use the scale as a unidimensional measure or choose to employ the two subscales (emotional loneliness and social loneliness), with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of α = 0.88 and α = 0.88, respectively.

References

de Jong Gierveld, J., van Tilburg, T., & Dykstra, P. A. (2006). Loneliness and social isolation. Cambridge Handbook of Personal Relationships, 485–500.