Reliability, Validity, and Fairness Evidence for the LGBTQ+ Loneliness Scale

Abstract

The LGBTQ+ community is often neglected in research, and despite progress, there is further work needed for equity. Studies have shown that loneliness is a risk factor for mental health difficulties, with rising rates during the pandemic disproportionately affecting the LGBTQ+ community. It is essential to identify those at risk, but there are few scales and systematic approaches currently available for LGBTQ+. To address this need, the present study aimed to develop the LGBTQ+ Loneliness Scale (LLS) and provide reliability, validity, and fairness evidence. The LLS has 29 Likert-scale items with options from 1 to 5, including five hypothesized subscales (social isolation, emotional isolation, cognitive isolation, identity concealment, and heteronormative society). A total of 410 participants were recruited for the validation study. Participants were primarily White (71.1%), and aged 18 – 83 (M = 33.36, SD = 15.34). Bisexual (42%), gay (17.2%), and lesbian (15.7%) were the highest reported sexualities. Results show that the alpha reliability coefficient for the overall scale scores was .91, with subscales coefficients ranging from .50 – .80, and subgroup scores ranging from .88 – .94. Item-total correlations were also investigated, and one item, “I seek out LGBTQ+ friends,” from the identity concealment subscale showed a relatively low item-total correlation (.07). To explore the potential factor structure, exploratory factor analyses were conducted and found five distinct factors: social support (9 items: 5 items as hypothesized), connection to the LGBTQ+ community (8 items: 4 items as hypothesized), comfort with personal sexuality (5 items: zero items as hypothesized), victimization due to sexuality (4 items: 2 items as hypothesized), and romantic support (2 items: zero items as hypothesized). Preliminary data from cognitive interviews with members of the LBGTQ+ community demonstrate that the subscales make sense to participants and that they felt well-represented.

Details

Session 1

11:15am – 12:30pm

Del Norte Hall

Room B: 1545