At a glance
Number of items: 8 questions.
Score direction: Higher scores indicate greater loneliness.
What is the UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS-8)?
The ULS-8 is an eight-item short form of the UCLA Loneliness Scale described by Hays and DiMatteo.
It is used as a brief measure of subjective loneliness and social isolation-related experience.
The scale includes negatively worded loneliness items and positively worded social-connection items.
Positively worded items are reverse-scored before calculating the total.
How is it scored?
Each item is scored on a 1 to 4 response scale.
For negatively worded loneliness items, higher response values contribute to a higher loneliness
score.
For positively worded items, scoring is reversed so that higher final scores consistently indicate
greater loneliness.
The original ULS-8 total score range is 8 to 32.
Interpretation direction: higher total scores indicate greater loneliness.
How should results be interpreted?
ULS-8 is a screening and monitoring measure, not a diagnosis.
Interpret the result alongside:
- the score direction,
- change over time,
- the person’s stated concerns and goals,
- mood, function, health, mobility, caring responsibilities, and social context,
- whether loneliness is persistent, new, worsening, or already being addressed.
A higher or rising score can support a conversation about social connection, practical barriers,
support needs, and whether follow-up or referral pathways are appropriate.
References
Hays, R. D., & DiMatteo, M. R. (1987). A short-form measure of loneliness. Journal of Personality
Assessment, 51(1), 69-81. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa5101_6