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Loneliness and Aloneness Scale for Children and Adolescents (LACA)

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Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences

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Synonyms

LACA

Definition

The term “loneliness” refers to the negative feelings that emerge when people experience their social relationships as deficient (Perlman and Peplau 1981). The Loneliness and Aloneness Scale for Children and Adolescents (LACA; Marcoen et al. 1987) measures loneliness in two kinds of relationships, that is, relationships with parents and peers. In addition, the measure assesses two attitudes to being alone, that is, aversion to aloneness (or negative attitude to being alone) and affinity for aloneness (or positive attitude to being alone).

Theoretical Background

The LACA has been referred to as the Louvain Loneliness Scale for Children and Adolescents (LLCA) in earlier work (e.g., Marcoen et al. 1987). The instrument was developed specifically for the age range of 10–19 years. The available measures for adults were deemed too difficult in wording or seemed developmentally inappropriate. Late childhood and adolescence are crucial periods in life during which...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of School Psychology and Child and Adolescent Development (SCAD), KU Leuven – University of Leuven, Tiensestraat 102, Box 3715, 3000, Leuven, Belgium

    Luc Goossens & Marlies Maes

Authors
  1. Luc Goossens
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  2. Marlies Maes
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Correspondence to Luc Goossens .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Wichita State University, Wichita, KS, USA

    Brendan Clark

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Goossens, L., Maes, M. (2017). Loneliness and Aloneness Scale for Children and Adolescents (LACA). In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_2294-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_2294-1

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