Interpreting the UCLA Loneliness Scale

To determine your level of loneliness give yourself:

        1 point for each question you answered "never" N
        2 points for each question you answered "rarely" R
        3 points for each question you answered "sometimes" S
        4 points for each question you answered "often" O

Compute your score by adding the ten numbers together.

The average score for college students is 20.

The average score for nurses is 20.

The average score for school teachers is 19.

The average score for elderly people is 16.

Scores between 15 and 20 are considered a normal experience of loneliness.  Scores above 30 indicate a person is experiencing severe loneliness.  If your loneliness score is higher than you feel comfortable with--if your heart hurts or if you feel miserable--write to me at socialpsych@snowcrest.net  Your online Social Psychology teacher, Dr. Laura Valvatne

                Back to the UCLA Loneliness Scale             Back to Module 11