Development of a tool measuring various aspects of social detachment: The social detachment questionnaire for older population
Journal
Journal of the Formosan Medical Association = Taiwan yi zhi
Journal Volume
123
Journal Volume
123
Journal Issue
12
Journal Issue
12
Pages
1303 - 1310
Start Page
1303
End Page
1310
ISSN
0929-6646
Date Issued
2024-12
Author(s)
Yen, Chia-Ming
Chang, Hung-Yeh
Yu, Chih-Yuan
Chang, Kai-Chieh
Chang, Chin-Kai
Huang, Su-Hua
Cheng, Bor-Wen
Weng, Min-Hsiu
Hsu, Chih-Cheng
Abstract
Social detachment includes the subjective aspect “loneliness” and the objective aspect “social isolation,” but tools to assess both dimensions are limited. This study aims to develop a questionnaire, the Social Detachment Questionnaire for Older Population (SDQO), that considers multiple dimensions of social detachment simultaneously. Methods: The study collected 600 valid samples from individuals aged 55 and above to examine the psychometric properties of the developed SDQO. Item analysis was conducted to assess the performance of each item, and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was employed to analyze its initial structure and eliminate less ideal items. Subsequently, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to examine the model fit of the suggested structure by EFA, using different subsamples. Internal consistency, concurrent validity, and other analyses were also performed. Results: The original 27-item SDQO was reduced to 17 items after removing 4 questions in item analysis and 6 questions in EFA. The Cronbach's alpha for the 17-item version of SDQO was 0.80. Both EFA and CFA supported its 6-factor structure, with factors identified as community activities, loneliness, personal resources, leisure activities, friendship, and family resources. SDQO also demonstrated expected performance in concurrent validity. Conclusion: The 17-item version of SDQO exhibited good reliability and validity, measuring various aspects of social detachment behavior, feelings, and resources. It holds value for future research applications.
Subjects
Loneliness
Older population
Psychometric properties
Social detachment
Social isolation
Type
journal article