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BMC Psychiatry
Published in: BMC Psychiatry 1/2018

Open Access 01-12-2018 | Research article

The validity of proxy-based data on loneliness in suicide research: a case-control psychological autopsy study in rural China

Authors: Lu Niu, Cunxian Jia, Zhenyu Ma, Guojun Wang, Zhenjun Yu, Liang Zhou

Published in: BMC Psychiatry | Issue 1/2018

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Abstract

Background

There is a lack of evidence for the role of loneliness on suicide using psychological autopsy method, and the validity of proxy informants’ reports on loneliness is not well established. This study aimed to investigate the validity of proxy respondent reports on loneliness, and the reliability and validity of the University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale-6 (ULS-6) as used in psychological autopsy method with rural elderly people in China.

Methods

Two hundred forty-two suicide cases and 242 normal community controls were selected, and the psychological autopsy method was utilized to collect information. Data from proxy respondents of the living controls were compared with data reported by the targets (gold standards).

Results

Subject-proxy concordance for ULS-6 was fair (ICC = 0.447) in the living controls. The suicide cases were more likely to have a higher score of ULS-6 than the living controls. Additionally, our data supported that ULS-6 had adequate psychometric properties in both suicide and control groups: factor analyses yielded one-factor component solution; Cronbach’s alpha (both > 0.90) demonstrated excellent internal consistency; the Spearman correlation analysis indicated that the ULS-6 score was positively correlated with depression; and negatively correlated with QOL and social support.

Conclusions

Results support proxy-based data on loneliness in research of suicide in older adults in rural China, and the ULS-6 is a psychometrically sound instrument for measuring loneliness in psychological autopsy studies.
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Metadata
Title
The validity of proxy-based data on loneliness in suicide research: a case-control psychological autopsy study in rural China
Authors
Lu Niu
Cunxian Jia
Zhenyu Ma
Guojun Wang
Zhenjun Yu
Liang Zhou
Publication date
01-12-2018
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Psychiatry / Issue 1/2018
Electronic ISSN: 1471-244X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-018-1687-x

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