Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction Scale [LSDS-23]

Description

The Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction Scale (LSDS-23) is a self-report psychometric instrument designed to assess loneliness and social dissatisfaction among school-age children.

The original scale was developed to investigate loneliness in childhood and was subsequently revised to place greater emphasis on children’s social experiences within the school environment. It is intended for school-age children from the third grade of primary school onward and focuses particularly on how children perceive their relationships with peers.

The Greek adaptation consists of 23 items. The first 16 items originate from the original scale, while 7 additional items were introduced as part of the Greek adaptation to provide a broader assessment of social isolation and dissatisfaction with interpersonal relationships.

The LSDS-23 does not focus exclusively on the subjective feeling of loneliness. It also examines children’s perceptions of social rejection or disapproval within their relationships, their understanding of the possible causes of these experiences, and their perceptions of their own social abilities.

Particular emphasis is placed on children’s experiences within the school environment and in their relationships with peers.

Objective

The primary objective of the LSDS-23 is to assess children’s subjective experiences of loneliness and social dissatisfaction.

The original scale was developed in 1984 to assess loneliness in children more generally. Following its revision in 1985, greater emphasis was placed on loneliness and social relationships within the school context.

The scale can be used to investigate children’s perceptions of:

loneliness,

social dissatisfaction,

social isolation,

satisfaction or dissatisfaction with peer relationships,

social rejection or disapproval,

and their perceptions regarding the causes of these experiences and their own social capabilities.

The instrument therefore provides information about the way children themselves experience and interpret their social relationships rather than relying exclusively on external assessments by parents, teachers, or other observers.

Scale Structure

The Greek adaptation of the LSDS consists of 23 items.

The first 16 items correspond to the original version of the scale, while the remaining 7 items were added during the Greek adaptation.

The additional items were introduced to provide greater representation of two important aspects of children’s social experiences:

social isolation and

insufficient satisfaction with interpersonal relationships.

Their inclusion was intended to address a limitation of the original scale, which contained a disproportionately large number of items focusing specifically on the subjective perception of loneliness.

The content of the seven additional items was derived from analyses of children’s responses during the pilot study, particularly from interviews exploring how children themselves perceived and described loneliness.

According to the source material, these additional items showed weaker relationships with items directly assessing feelings of loneliness and satisfaction with peer relationships, reflecting their somewhat broader content.

Administration

The LSDS-23 is administered as a self-report scale.

Children respond to each item by selecting one of three response categories:

Never

Sometimes

Always

Responses are scored from 1 to 3.

The three-category response format provides a relatively straightforward method for children to report the frequency or degree to which the experiences described by the items apply to them.

Scoring

The LSDS-23 is scored by summing the scores assigned to all responses.

The resulting score provides an overall measure of loneliness and social dissatisfaction as assessed by the scale.

For the Greek adaptation, the following descriptive values are reported:

Mean = 1.40

Standard Deviation = 0.30

The available material does not provide specific clinical cut-off scores for classifying children according to levels of loneliness or social dissatisfaction. Scores should therefore be interpreted with reference to the available normative or comparative data and the broader assessment context.

Greek Adaptation Sample

The Greek adaptation was based on a sample of 238 students attending the fourth and sixth grades of primary school.

The reported mean ages were:

9.3 years for fourth-grade students and

11.2 years for sixth-grade students.

During the adaptation process, mean scores obtained with the original scale were compared, parallel tests were administered, and interviews with children were conducted.

The findings indicated that both the original 16-item version and the expanded 23-item Greek version demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency.

The addition of seven items was based on the need to assess social isolation and insufficient satisfaction with relationships more comprehensively.

Data Analysis and Use

Data obtained from the LSDS-23 can be used to quantitatively investigate loneliness and social dissatisfaction among school-age children.

Descriptive Statistics: Means, standard deviations, score distributions, and other descriptive measures can be calculated to characterize loneliness and social dissatisfaction within a study sample.

Reliability Analysis: Internal consistency can be examined using Cronbach’s alpha.

Factor Analysis: Factor analysis can be used to investigate the underlying structure of the scale and determine whether the items represent a common latent construct.

Correlation Analysis: LSDS-23 scores may be examined in relation to variables associated with peer relationships, social interaction, and other relevant psychosocial characteristics.

Group Comparisons: Differences may be investigated according to age, school grade, gender, or other characteristics when such comparisons are relevant to the research design.

Reliability

The Greek adaptation demonstrates satisfactory internal consistency.

For the overall sample, the reported reliability coefficient is:

Cronbach’s α = 0.85

The source also reports reliability coefficients for different school grades, with values generally ranging from approximately 0.80 to 0.87.

With regard to gender, internal consistency was reported as:

Cronbach’s α = 0.85 for boys

Cronbach’s α = 0.85 for girls

These findings provide evidence supporting the internal consistency of the Greek adaptation of the scale.

Validity

Evidence supporting satisfactory construct validity is provided by the factor analysis conducted as part of the Greek adaptation.

The factor analysis indicated the presence of one principal factor, on which all but one of the items loaded.

A similar pattern had also been observed for the original version of the scale.

Additional evidence for validity was provided by correlations between LSDS scores and other variables. According to the available material, these associations were in the theoretically expected direction.

Together, these findings provide support for the use of the scale in assessing loneliness and social dissatisfaction within the population for which the Greek version was adapted.

Interpretation of Results

The LSDS-23 assesses children’s subjective experiences of loneliness and the quality of their social relationships.

Its results therefore provide information about how children themselves perceive their social position and interpersonal experiences, particularly within the school environment and in relationships with peers.

Higher overall scores should be interpreted according to the scoring direction of the administered version and the corresponding reference data. The available source does not provide validated clinical thresholds or diagnostic cut-off points.

Consequently, LSDS-23 results are best considered as part of a broader assessment rather than interpreted as an isolated indicator.

The scale can contribute to identifying children who report difficulties involving loneliness, social isolation, or dissatisfaction with peer relationships, but it should not be used independently as a diagnostic instrument for a mental health or developmental disorder.

Applications

The LSDS-23 can be applied primarily within educational, developmental, psychological, and research settings.

It can be used to investigate loneliness and social dissatisfaction among school-age children, examine children’s relationships with peers, and explore individual differences in social experiences.

The instrument may also contribute to identifying children who report difficulties in their peer relationships and who may benefit from a more comprehensive assessment of their social and emotional experiences.

In research settings, LSDS-23 scores may be examined alongside measures of peer interaction, social competence, self-perceptions, self-efficacy, or other relevant psychosocial characteristics.

Its emphasis on children’s own perceptions makes the scale particularly useful when researchers are interested in the subjective dimension of loneliness, which may not always be apparent from external observation alone.

Conclusions

The Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction Scale [LSDS-23] is a self-report instrument designed to assess children’s subjective experiences of loneliness and dissatisfaction with their social relationships, particularly within the school and peer context.

The Greek adaptation expands the original 16-item scale to 23 items through the addition of seven items intended to provide broader coverage of social isolation and insufficient satisfaction with relationships.

The Greek adaptation study, conducted with 238 fourth- and sixth-grade primary school students, provides evidence of satisfactory construct validity and good internal consistency, with an overall Cronbach’s α = 0.85.

The LSDS-23 can therefore provide useful information for research and assessment focusing on children’s loneliness, social dissatisfaction, and peer relationships, particularly when its findings are interpreted alongside broader information concerning the child’s social, developmental, and educational context.

References

Asher, S. R., Hymel, S., & Renshaw, P. D. (1984). Loneliness in children. Child Development, 55, 1456–1464.

Asher, S. R., & Wheeler, V. A. (1985). Children’s loneliness: A comparison of rejected and neglected peer status. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53, 500–505.

Cassidy, J., & Asher, S. R. (1992). Loneliness and peer relations in young children. Child Development, 63, 350–365.

Galanaki, E. P., & Kalantzi-Azizi, A. (1999). Loneliness and social dissatisfaction: Its relation with children’s self-efficacy for peer interaction. Child Study Journal, 29, 1–22.