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Validation of the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, 6‐item version, in a multiethnic population of Chilean older adults
Author(s) -
RodríguezBlázquez Carmen,
AyalaGarcía Alba,
Forjaz Maria João,
GallardoPeralta Lorena P.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
australasian journal on ageing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.63
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1741-6612
pISSN - 1440-6381
DOI - 10.1111/ajag.12893
Subject(s) - loneliness , rasch model , indigenous , confirmatory factor analysis , ethnic group , psychology , scale (ratio) , internal consistency , clinical psychology , population , gerontology , psychometrics , medicine , demography , structural equation modeling , psychiatry , developmental psychology , geography , environmental health , sociology , ecology , statistics , mathematics , cartography , anthropology , biology
Objective To analyse the psychometric properties of the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, 6‐item version (DJGLS‐6), in a multiethnic sample of older Chilean adults. Methods A cross‐sectional study was designed using a sample of 800 older people, and 71% were self‐declared indigenous. Data quality and acceptability, internal consistency, and construct and structural validity of DJGLS‐6 were analysed. The scale was also analysed according to the Rasch model. Results The DJGLS‐6 scored higher for the non‐indigenous group than for Aymara and Mapuche ( P < .001). KR‐20 coefficients (internal consistency) for emotional loneliness subscale reached 0.44 for Aymara and Mapuche and 0.62 for non‐indigenous, and from 0.73 (non‐indigenous) to 0.86 (Aymara) for social loneliness subscale. The confirmatory factor analysis identified one dimension. None of the two subscales fit the Rasch model. Conclusion The results indicate that DJGLS‐6 is a reliable and adequate scale for non‐indigenous Chilean older people. However, it should be culturally adapted to indigenous ethnic minorities.