Three-Item Loneliness Scale (TILS)

The Three-Item Loneliness Scale (TILS) is a very brief method that assesses feelings of loneliness and social isolation. This questionnaire was created from the original 20-item Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale. The items indirectly ask the respondent about their emotions related to loneliness without explicitly mentioning the word.

Length of completion

The entire questionnaire takes approximately 1 minute to complete.

Individualized feedback for the respondent

After completing the questionnaire, the respondent will gain an understanding of the amount of perceived loneliness.

Keywords

Three-Item Loneliness Scale, TILS, loneliness, social isolation, solitude

Scoring and interpretation

Simply summing the scores for the three items yields a total score ranging from 3-9, with higher scores indicating higher levels of loneliness.

Response Scale

The respondent answers the questions on a three-point Likert scale: “Almost never” (1), “Sometimes” (2), and “Often” (3).

References

Garg, N., Sharma, N., & Burgess, J. (2023). Three-item loneliness scale: Exploring the psychometric properties in the Indian context. Asian journal of psychiatry, 80, 103323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2022.103323

Hughes, M. E., Waite, L. J., Hawkley, L. C., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2004). A Short Scale for Measuring Loneliness in Large Surveys: Results From Two Population-Based Studies. Research on aging, 26(6), 655–672. https://doi.org/10.1177/0164027504268574

Russell D. W. (1996). UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3): reliability, validity, and factor structure. Journal of personality assessment, 66(1), 20–40. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa6601_2

Trucharte, A., Calderón, L., Cerezo, E., Contreras, A., Peinado, V., & Valiente, C. (2021). Three-item loneliness scale: psychometric properties and normative data of the Spanish version. Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.), 1–9. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02110-x