Home
Psychological tests
Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults, Short Form (SELSA-S)

Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults, Short Form (SELSA-S) Test

Understand whether loneliness is romantic, social, or family-based in about 4 minutes. With 19 items, it pinpoints where support is missing to guide care and track progress.

Start Online Test

Questions: 194 minutes

Hi! My name is Freudly, i am an AI therapist, I will give you an interpretation of the test after you complete it.

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

28318 views

2282 completions

1916 likes

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

2/5

Romantic Emotional Loneliness (REL)

Measures perceived loneliness and emotional unfulfillment within romantic relationships.

Low

High

1 – 3.2: Low | 3.3 – 5: High

A score of 2 falls in the Low range, suggesting relatively little romantic emotional loneliness and generally adequate emotional satisfaction in romantic connection.

example score

3/5

Romantic Relationships (RR)

Measures perceived loneliness due to a lack of closeness and support in romantic relationships.

Low loneliness

High loneliness

1 – 3.9: Low loneliness | 4 – 5: High loneliness

A score of 3 suggests relatively low loneliness in romantic relationships, indicating generally adequate perceived closeness or support.

example score

2/5

Non-Family Emotional Loneliness (NEL)

Measures perceived emotional loneliness in friendships by assessing closeness and emotional support from friends outside the family.

Low

High

1 – 2.9: Low | 3 – 5: High

A score of 2 falls in the Low range, suggesting you generally experience adequate emotional closeness and support in relationships with friends.

example score

3/5

Family Emotional (FE)

Measures how emotionally isolated a person feels within their family relationships.

Low

Moderate

High

1 – 2.5: Low | 2.6 – 3.7: Moderate | 3.8 – 5: High

A score of 3 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a noticeable but not extreme sense of emotional distance or insufficient support within the family circle.

example score

3/5

Loneliness (L)

Measures the overall intensity of social and emotional loneliness (perceived isolation and lack of support in close connections).

Low

Moderate

High

1 – 1.3: Low | 1.4 – 2.8: Moderate | 2.9 – 5: High

A score of 3 falls in the High range, suggesting a pronounced sense of loneliness and perceived disconnection.

Start Online Test

just completed the test

DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Feeling lonely in a crowd

41%OF USERS

Adults who have people around them but still feel emotionally disconnected and want to pinpoint whether it’s romantic, social, or family loneliness.

Navigating relationship changes

34%OF USERS

People going through a breakup, divorce, bereavement, or a new move who want to understand which connections feel most lacking right now.

Therapy and counseling clients

25%OF USERS

Clients working on anxiety, depression, or isolation who use the results to clarify therapy goals and track progress in specific relationship areas.

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

RESULTS YOU CAN ACTUALLY USE

What You’ll See After You Finish the Test

Scale Results
— Explained Clearly

Your scores across each test scale, translated into plain, usable insights. Not just numbers, but what they actually mean for your daily life, emotional state, and overall well-being.

AI-Powered
Interpretation

A structured, clinically grounded explanation. Our AI analyzes patterns and relationships between scales to provide a coherent interpretation — without alarmist language.

Statistical
Comparison

See how you compare to others. Your scores are placed in a statistical context, showing percentiles and trends based on anonymized platform data to help you understand what`s typical.

Practical
Recommendations

Actionable guidance tailored to your profile. Receive clear, realistic suggestions you can apply immediately — focused on coping, self-regulation, and realistic next steps.

AI-Detected
Insights

Key patterns you might not notice on your own. Surfacing subtle connections in your responses that help you better understand what may be driving your current results.

Discuss with
an AI Psychologist

Clarify, reflect, and explore right away. Talk through your outcomes, ask questions, and explore meanings in a calm, non-diagnostic dialogue environment.

Start Online Test

Used in 52+ countries

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you finish the test, your results will be compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of the benchmarks we use to place your score in context.

Romantic emotional (Re)

Average

2.6

Normal range

2 — 3.1

min.

max.

majority

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear here so you can see where you land.

In romantic relationships (Irr)

Average

Normal range

2.3 — 3.7

min.

max.

majority

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear here so you can see where you land.

Non-family emotional (Ne)

Average

2.5

Normal range

1.8 — 3.1

min.

max.

majority

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear here so you can see where you land.

Family emotional (Fe)

Average

Normal range

2.4 — 3.6

min.

max.

majority

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear here so you can see where you land.

Loneliness (L)

Average

3.7

Normal range

3.2 — 4.3

min.

max.

majority

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear here so you can see where you land.

Start Online Test

Featured On

Rated 4.8/5 by Our Customers

“Freudly really helped me discover parts of my personality I hadn’t noticed before. It strengthened the areas where I needed to grow and made me feel more grounded and confident in the parts that already worked well.”

— Emma C., US

“I wanted to understand how serious my ADHD is, and now I finally do. I also realized I need to work on my self-esteem. It has been low for a long time, and that makes daily life harder than it should be.”

— Mateo R., CA

“Reading each question felt like someone really understood me. Even though I’ve already dealt with much of this, reflecting still helped me learn something new about myself.”

— Caroline F., US

“The process is simple. The test covers everything you need, and you’ll get a clear breakdown of your results. For just a few dollars, it’s a great value.”

— Klara N., CZ

“I kept thinking there might be a small chance, but now I know for sure. The questions were easy to understand, and the whole process was straightforward.”

— Bruno M., BR

“I really enjoyed this experience. I learned a lot, and it helped me make sense of my thoughts and the feeling I’ve had for a long time that I may have grown up with undiagnosed ADHD.”

— Alice B., FR

“Great platform — the insights were genuinely meaningful!”

— Daniel W., DE

“Everything was easy to follow. The tools you get at the end are genuinely helpful for self-growth, and the price is very reasonable. I really appreciate that.”

— Sofia M., ES

“Surprisingly accurate — honestly didn’t expect it to nail things so well.”

— Adir B., IL

“There are lots of different tests to pick from, and the price is surprisingly low for how much insight you get.”

— Olivia W., CA

“I was pleasantly surprised when I read the results. It was as if someone had sorted out my messy thoughts and given me useful tips to help me speak with more confidence.”

— Grace O., IE

“It was really solid, very detailed, and it actually helped me make sense of a lot of things.”

— Carla T., TT

“I was really impressed with the report. It was clear, thoughtful, and it reflected things I’ve been noticing about myself.”

— Jade H., US

“The questions made me think deeply and helped me become more self-aware.”

— Brooke S., US

“Reading through most of the questions made me feel understood. Although I’ve already worked through some of these issues, the questions still gave me useful insights and helped me learn more about myself.”

— Ryan M., US

“I usually take one or two tests each month, and this has become a good way for me to see how I’m doing.”

— Lucas W., US

“Most of the time, my results are in the 90 to 98th percentile compared to others. It really makes me feel like there’s something unique about me.”

— Ethan C., US

“I tried out some of the AI’s suggestions, and to be honest, they worked much better than I thought they would. Maybe this thing really is smarter than me.”

— Reece D., AU

Trusted by 22k+ Users Worldwide

CLEAR ANSWERS TO COMMON QUESTIONS

Frequently Asked Questions

Any questions left?

What does this questionnaire measure?

It measures perceived loneliness across three domains: romantic, social, and family. It focuses on the sense of missing support or closeness in these relationships.

How long does it take and how many items are included?

Completion time is about 4 minutes. The questionnaire includes 19 items.

Who is this questionnaire intended for?

It is intended for adults. It can be used in clinical, counseling, and research settings to describe relationship-related loneliness.

How should responses be completed?

Answer each item based on typical feelings and experiences rather than a single event. Respond to all items and select the option that best fits.

How should results be interpreted?

Scores indicate which domain shows greater loneliness relative to the others. Results are not a diagnosis and should be interpreted alongside clinical or contextual information.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults, Short Form (SELSA-S) Test

loneliness aging

This instrument assesses perceived loneliness across key interpersonal domains in adult populations. The Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults, Short Form (SELSA-S) is intended to help differentiate patterns of loneliness related to romantic, family, and social relationships.

Developed by Daniel W. Russell, it consists of 19 items and typically requires about 4 minutes to complete. Responses can support clinical case formulation by clarifying whether perceived disconnection is most prominent in partner, family, or peer contexts. The Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults, Short Form (SELSA-S) may be used alongside other assessment data to inform treatment planning and to monitor change over time.

Author: Daniel W. Russell, letitia-anne-peplau

Literature: Cacioppo, J. T., & Patrick, W. Loneliness: Human nature and the need for social connection. W. W. Norton & Company. 2008.; DiTommaso, E., Brannen, C., & Best, L. A. Measurement and validity characteristics of the short version of the Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults. Educational and Psychological Measurement. 2004.

Test Question Form