| Title: | Scoring for Common Loneliness Scales |
| Version: | 0.1.0 |
| Description: | Scoring functions for widely used loneliness measures, with response keys and reverse-scoring drawn from the original scale manuals. Covers the UCLA Loneliness Scale Version 3 and its three-item short form, the de Jong Gierveld 11- and 6-item scales, the Children's Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction Scale, and the short Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults. Out-of-range responses raise a warning, and missing-data rules follow each scale's manual. |
| License: | CC0 |
| Encoding: | UTF-8 |
| RoxygenNote: | 7.3.3 |
| Suggests: | testthat (≥ 3.0.0) |
| Config/testthat/edition: | 3 |
| URL: | https://github.com/nsbyrd/lonelyr |
| BugReports: | https://github.com/nsbyrd/lonelyr/issues |
| NeedsCompilation: | no |
| Packaged: | 2026-07-27 23:44:51 UTC; NatalieByrd |
| Author: | Natalie Byrd 
[aut, cre] |
| Maintainer: | Natalie Byrd <nsb5522@psu.edu> |
| Repository: | CRAN |
| Date/Publication: | 2026-08-05 17:20:02 UTC |
Registry of verified loneliness scales
Description
Registry of verified loneliness scales
Usage
loneliness_scales
Format
An object of class list of length 6.
Score a de Jong Gierveld loneliness scale (11- or 6-item)
Description
Dichotomous scoring from the scale manual (de Jong Gierveld & Van Tilburg, 1999). "More or less" always counts toward loneliness, and the scored direction flips by item valence. One missing item scores 0; two or more return NA.
Usage
score_djg(data, items, negative, positive, neutral, bands = FALSE)
Arguments
data |
Data frame with the item columns. |
items |
Item column names in scale order. |
negative, positive |
Integer positions of the negatively worded (emotional) and positively worded (social) items. |
neutral |
Code for the "more or less" response: 2 on a 3-point coding (1 no, 2 more or less, 3 yes) or 3 on a 5-point coding (1 no! to 5 yes!). |
bands |
If TRUE, adds the manual's tentative severity category (11-item only). |
Value
Data frame with djg_total, djg_emotional, djg_social, and
djg_n_missing.
References
de Jong Gierveld, J., & Van Tilburg, T. (1999). Manual of the Loneliness Scale. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Examples
d <- as.data.frame(matrix(2, nrow = 2, ncol = 11))
names(d) <- paste0("q", 1:11)
score_djg(d, names(d),
negative = c(2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10),
positive = c(1, 4, 7, 8, 11),
neutral = 2)
Score a Likert-summed loneliness scale (UCLA family)
Description
Reverse-keys the positively worded items and returns the summed and mean scores. Responses outside the expected range raise a warning, which catches a mis-coded column.
Usage
score_likert(
data,
items,
reverse = integer(0),
response_range = c(1, 4),
max_missing = 0
)
Arguments
data |
Data frame with the item columns. |
items |
Character vector of item column names, in scale order. Order matters: reverse-keying is applied by item position. |
reverse |
Integer positions of the reverse-scored items. |
response_range |
Length-2 numeric giving the low and high response anchors. |
max_missing |
Most missing items allowed before a score returns NA. Above 0, the total is prorated from the item mean. |
Value
Data frame with columns sum, mean, and n_valid.
References
Russell, D. W. (1996). UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3): Reliability, validity, and factor structure. Journal of Personality Assessment, 66(1), 20-40.
Examples
d <- as.data.frame(matrix(3, nrow = 2, ncol = 20))
names(d) <- paste0("q", 1:20)
score_likert(d, names(d), reverse = c(1, 5, 6, 9, 10, 15, 16, 19, 20))
Score any registered loneliness scale
Description
Looks up the scale in loneliness_scales and uses the right engine.
Usage
score_loneliness(data, items, scale, neutral = NULL, bands = FALSE)
Arguments
data |
Data frame with the item columns. |
items |
Item column names in scale order. |
scale |
Scale key, e.g. "ucla20", "ucla3" (also known as "tils"), "djg11", "djg6", "lsdq", "selsa_s". |
neutral |
Required for de Jong scales: the "more or less" response code. |
bands |
Passed to the de Jong engine for the 11-item severity category. |
Value
A data frame of scores; columns depend on the scale.
Score the Children's Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction Scale
Description
Asher, Hymel, and Renshaw's (1984) 24-item scale. The eight filler items (2, 5, 7, 11, 13, 15, 19, 23) are dropped. The six positively worded competence items (1, 4, 8, 10, 16, 22) are reverse-keyed so a higher total means more loneliness.
Usage
score_lsdq(data, items, max_missing = 0)
Arguments
data |
Data frame with the 24 item columns. |
items |
The 24 column names in order (fillers included; dropped inside). |
max_missing |
Most missing scored items allowed before returning NA. |
Value
Data frame with lsdq_sum and lsdq_n_valid.
References
Asher, S. R., Hymel, S., & Renshaw, P. D. (1984). Loneliness in children. Child Development, 55(4), 1456-1464.
Examples
d <- as.data.frame(matrix(3, nrow = 2, ncol = 24))
names(d) <- paste0("q", 1:24)
score_lsdq(d, names(d))
Score the short Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults (SELSA-S)
Description
DiTommaso, Brannen, and Best's (2004) 15-item scale, three subscales of five items each. Items 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15 are reverse-keyed (8 minus score). Subscale scores are item means, higher meaning lonelier. Family and romantic combine into an emotional loneliness score.
Usage
score_selsa_s(data, items, max_missing = 0)
Arguments
data |
Data frame with the 15 item columns. |
items |
The 15 column names in order: social 1-5, family 6-10, romantic 11-15. |
max_missing |
Most missing items allowed per subscale before that subscale returns NA. |
Value
Data frame with selsa_social, selsa_family, selsa_romantic,
selsa_emotional, and selsa_n_valid.
References
DiTommaso, E., Brannen, C., & Best, L. A. (2004). Measurement and validity characteristics of the short version of the Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 64(1), 99-119.
Examples
d <- as.data.frame(matrix(4, nrow = 2, ncol = 15))
names(d) <- paste0("q", 1:15)
score_selsa_s(d, names(d))