Psychometrické vlastnosti škály osamelosti R-UCLA: Overenie faktorovej štruktúry, vnútornej konzistencie a invariancie merania

Loneliness during adolescence is a significant psychosocial factor associated with mental health and overall life satisfaction. One of the most commonly used instruments for measuring loneliness is the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale (R-UCLA). Despite its widespread use, validated data on its psychometric properties in the Slovak context are lacking. The aim of this study was to examine the factor structure, reliability, and measurement invariance of the R-UCLA in a sample of Slovak adolescents. The research sample consisted of 593 students aged 14 to 19 years (72.3% girls). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using the DWLS method supported a three-dimensional model as the most appropriate (?2(167) = 410.213; RMSEA = 0.074; CFI = 0.962; TLI = 0.955). Measurement invariance analysis confirmed the equivalence of factor structure and loadings across genders. Cronbach’s ? coefficients (0.763 – 0.891) and McDonald’s ? (0.772 – 0.875) indicated satisfactory internal consistency of the individual subscales. The results support the appropriateness of the R-UCLA scale for research and screening purposes during adolescence in the Slovak context.