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De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale (DJGLS)3

De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale (DJGLS) Test

With 11 questions and an estimated completion time of 3 minutes, the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale (DJGLS) Test helps you reflect on social contacts, emotional closeness, and feelings of isolation. Your result separates social and emotional experiences, offering a concise profile for self-reflection and understanding your interpersonal support.

Questions: 113 minutes

De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale: sample question card

October 2, 2025October 2, 2025Material has been updatedOctober 2, 2025Material has been published

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Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

Social LonelinessSL

This scale measures satisfaction with social interactions and a sense of belonging, where higher scores reflect greater social loneliness.

example score20/25

20/25Highexample score

5 – 8Low

9 – 17Moderate

18 – 25High

A score of 20 falls in the High range, suggesting pronounced dissatisfaction with social connections and a stronger sense of social isolation.

EmotionalE

Measures the subjective sense of lacking close, emotionally supportive relationships and warmth.

example score12/30

12/30Moderateexample score

6 – 8Low

9 – 19Moderate

20 – 30High

A score of 12 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting some perceived gaps in emotional closeness and support without being pronounced.

LonelinessL

Measures the overall intensity of perceived loneliness, reflecting both emotional and social aspects.

example score22/55

22/55Moderate lonelinessexample score

11 – 15Low loneliness

16 – 35Moderate loneliness

36 – 55High loneliness

A score of 22 falls in the Moderate loneliness range, suggesting a noticeable but not pronounced sense of loneliness.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Feeling alone in a crowd

41%OF USERS

People who have acquaintances or social media contacts but still feel a lack of closeness and emotional warmth.

New city or life change

34%OF USERS

Those adjusting after moving, a breakup, graduation, parenthood, or another transition who want to understand whether the gap is social or emotional.

Students and mental health check

25%OF USERS

Students and adults doing a quick self-check to see how strongly isolation affects their mood, motivation, and daily functioning.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Shaded area — where most people score

Dot — the average

You — your score lands on each curve after the test— your score, after the test

SocialS

You?

Average11.4

Typical rangeTypical8.7 – 14.2

Possible5 – 25

EmotionalE

You?

Average20.9

Typical rangeTypical17.6 – 24.1

Possible6 – 30

Loneliness ScaleLS

You?

Average37.8

Typical rangeTypical29.9 – 45.7

Possible11 – 55

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

Below are 11 statements. For each statement, please indicate how well it describes your current situation and how you have been feeling. Respond quickly, without spending too much time on any one item. Your first response is often the most accurate.

- Yes
- More yes than no
- Not sure
- More no than yes
- No
- Yes
- More yes than no
- Don't know
- More no than yes
- No
- Yes
- More yes than no
- Don't know
- More no than yes
- No

These are 3 of the 11 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale (DJGLS) Test - Description and methodology of the test

loneliness

People deciding whether to examine their current relationships may use the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale (DJGLS) Test as a structured self-report exercise. An assessment of loneliness can help readers decide whether a fuller look at their experience would be useful, with the result providing a structured starting point for personal reflection before drawing personal conclusions.

What This Assessment Explores

Rather than treating loneliness as a single experience, the questionnaire separates limited social contact from the pain of lacking close emotional bonds. Its statements cover trust, dependable help, friendship, company, rejection, emptiness, and whether a person feels their social circle is sufficient. This makes the DJGLS loneliness test useful for reflecting on present relationships and perceived support.

The three displayed results are:

Social Loneliness (5-25) reflects social contacts and belonging: Low 5-8, Moderate 9-17, High 18-25.
Emotional (6-30) reflects missing close bonds and warmth: Low 6-8, Moderate 9-19, High 20-30.
Loneliness (11-55) combines both components: Low loneliness 11-15, Moderate loneliness 16-35, High loneliness 36-55.

Taken together, higher scores indicate more pronounced difficulty in the relevant area, while lower scores suggest greater connection or less loneliness.

Methodology and Evidence Base

Each statement offers five response options from yes to no, with intermediate choices for uncertainty or a leaning either way. Some items describe available support and others unmet connection, so scoring follows the questionnaire's assigned direction rather than treating every yes alike. Responses are combined into component and overall scores, and the displayed bands classify those ranges.

The De Jong Gierveld loneliness questionnaire is conceptually consistent with the published De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, a Rasch-type instrument whose manual describes the 11-item structure and component interpretation. Spanish and Mexican studies provide relevant validation contexts but do not establish norms or independent validation for this English online form.

Scores may shift with current circumstances, self-awareness, and response bias, so the profile works best as structured reflection on perceived relationships. Reviewing the result alongside recent experiences can help you consider whether it reflects a persistent concern or a temporary change.

Author: Daniel W. Russell, Letitia Anne Peplau, Mary E. Ferguson

Literature:

de Jong-Gierveld, J., & Kamphuis, F. (1985). The Development of a Rasch-Type Loneliness Scale. Applied Psychological Measurement, 9(3), 289-299. 10.1177/014662168500900307
de Jong-Gierveld, J., & van Tilburg, T. G. (1999). Manual of the Loneliness Scale. Department of Social Research Methodology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. 10.17605/osf.io/u6gck
Buz, J., & Pérez-Arechaederra, D. (2014). Psychometric properties and measurement invariance of the Spanish version of the 11-item De Jong Gierveld loneliness scale. International Psychogeriatrics, 26(9), 1553-1564. 10.1017/S1041610214000507
Giraldo-Rodríguez, L., Álvarez-Cisneros, T., & Agudelo-Botero, M. (2023). Psychometric Properties of the 11-Item De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale in a Representative Sample of Mexican Older Adults. Healthcare, 11(4), 489. 10.3390/healthcare11040489

Updated: 2025-10-02