Middleton’s Alienation Scale
Measures social alienation across six dimensions: powerlessness, meaninglessness, normlessness, cultural estrangement, social estrangement, and work estrangement.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Middleton’s Alienation Scale was developed by Russell Middleton (1963). It is designed to measure Alienation. The scale is intended for use with General adult population.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 6 items organized into 6 factors/subscales: Powerlessness, Meaninglessness, Normlessness, Cultural Estrangement, Social Estrangement, Work Estrangement.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Powerlessness | 1 | 1 |
| Meaninglessness | 2 | 1 |
| Normlessness | 3 | 1 |
| Cultural Estrangement | 4 | 1 |
| Social Estrangement | 5 | 1 |
| Work Estrangement | 6 | 1 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Agree, 0 = Disagree.
Scoring
Items are summed to produce a total score.
Total scores range from 0 to 6. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Alienation: 0 – 2
- Moderate Alienation: 3 – 4
- High Alienation: 5 – 6
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Not specified in source.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 2 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.