Mothers with infants and toddlers are a potential target population for the prevention or alleviation of feelings of loneliness. However, the theory and methods for measuring loneliness among mothers with infants and toddlers have yet to be standardized worldwide, including in Japan. Our goal was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the UCLA Loneliness Scale Version 3 (UCLA-LS3-J), as well as two short-form versions—the 10-item UCLA-LS3 (SF-10) and the 3-item UCLA-LS3 (SF-3)—for the measurement of loneliness in mothers with infants and toddlers in Japan. This cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-report questionnaire. The target population was 430 mothers with infants and toddlers who visited a community health center in Yokohama City in Japan. Questionnaire items encompassed the UCLA-LS3-J, as well as demographic data, the feeling for childrearing scale, and measures of social networks and subjective health status. The reliability and validity of the UCLA-LS3-J and its two short-form versions (SF-3 and SF-10) were determined via IBM SPSS Amos and SPSS Statistics 22. Questionnaires were returned by 248 mothers (valid response rate: 57.7%) aged 32.7 ± 4.6 (mean ± SD) years. The mean score on the UCLA-LS3-J was 38.4 ± 9.7 (range 20.0–73.0), with a normal distribution. When confirmatory factor analysis was carried out (for a single factor model), the goodness of fit of the model was almost identical to that of the original UCLA-LS3 version for the UCLA-LS3-J: (GFI = 0.882, AGFI = 0.840, CFI = 0.932, RMSEA = 0.066) and SF-10: (GFI = 0.942, AGFI = 0.900, CFI = 0.956, RMSEA = 0.081). The SF-3 model also showed an acceptable fit. The UCLA-LS3-J total score was significantly correlated with the total score on the SF-10 (r = 0.965) and SF-3 (r = 0.868). The Cronbach’s α coefficient of the UCLA-LS3-J was 0.926, while those of the SF-10 and SF-3 were 0.888 and 0.790, respectively. The score on the UCLA-LS3-J was positively correlated with childcare burden (r = .319, p < 0.001) and negatively correlated with social networks (r = −.438, p < 0.001). This study indicated that the reliability and validity of the UCLA-LS3-J as well as its two short-form versions were adequate for assessing loneliness in mothers with infants and toddlers in Japan.

中文翻译：

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日语版UCLA孤独感量表第3版的信度和效度：在有婴幼儿的母亲中使用：一项横断面研究

有婴幼儿的母亲是预防或减轻孤独感的潜在目标人群。但是，在包括日本在内的世界范围内，用于测量有婴幼儿的母亲之间的孤独感的理论和方法尚未标准化。我们的目标是评估日语版UCLA孤独感量表版本3（UCLA-LS3-J）以及两个简短版本的可靠性和有效性：10个项目的UCLA-LS3（SF-10）和3项UCLA-LS3（SF-3），用于测量日本有婴儿的母亲的孤独感。这项横断面研究是使用自我报告调查表进行的。目标人群是访问日本横滨市社区卫生中心的430名带婴幼儿的母亲。问卷调查项目包括UCLA-LS3-J，以及人口统计数据，育儿规模的感觉以及社交网络和主观健康状况的衡量指标。UCLA-LS3-J及其两个简短版本（SF-3和SF-10）的可靠性和有效性是通过IBM SPSS Amos和SPSS Statistics 22确定的。调查问卷由248位母亲返回（有效回复率：57.7） ％）年龄为32.7±4.6（平均±SD）岁。UCLA-LS3-J的平均得分为38.4±9.7（范围20.0–73.0），呈正态分布。进行验证性因素分析时（对于单因素模型），模型的拟合优度几乎与原始UCLA-LS3版本的UCLA-LS3-J相同：（GFI = 0.882，AGFI = 0.840 ，CFI = 0.932，RMSEA = 0.066）和SF-10：（GFI = 0.942，AGFI = 0.900，CFI = 0.956，RMSEA = 0.081）。SF-3模型也显示出可接受的拟合度。UCLA-LS3-J总分与SF-10（r = 0.965）和SF-3（r = 0.868）的总分显着相关。UCLA-LS3-J的Cronbachα系数为0.926，而SF-10和SF-3的Cronbachα系数分别为0.888和0.790。UCLA-LS3-J的得分与育儿负担正相关（r = 0.319，p <0.001），与社交网络负相关（r = -.438，p <0.001）。这项研究表明，UCLA-LS3-J及其两个简短版本的可靠性和有效性足以评估日本有婴幼儿母亲的孤独感。分别。UCLA-LS3-J的得分与育儿负担正相关（r = 0.319，p <0.001），与社交网络负相关（r = -.438，p <0.001）。这项研究表明，UCLA-LS3-J及其两个简短版本的可靠性和有效性足以评估日本有婴幼儿母亲的孤独感。分别。UCLA-LS3-J的得分与育儿负担正相关（r = 0.319，p <0.001），与社交网络负相关（r = -.438，p <0.001）。这项研究表明，UCLA-LS3-J及其两个简短版本的可靠性和有效性足以评估日本有婴幼儿母亲的孤独感。