Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)

Abstract

The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) is a widely used, brief psychometric instrument consisting of five items designed to assess an individual’s global cognitive judgments of their life satisfaction. Developed by Diener, Emmons, Larsen, and Griffin in 1985, the SWLS specifically measures the cognitive component of subjective well-being (SWB), focusing on a thoughtful, reflective appraisal of one’s life rather than momentary emotional states.

The scale employs a 7-point Likert scale response format, ranging from Strongly Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (7). Its questions are purposefully open to interpretation, making the SWLS highly suitable for research involving adults across diverse backgrounds and demographic groups. The instrument is highly time-efficient, typically requiring only about one minute for a respondent to complete.

Keywords

Life Satisfaction, Subjective Well-Being, SWLS, Happiness, Cognitive Judgment, Quality of Life, Psychological Assessment, Affective Component.

Authors

Ed Diener, Robert A. Emmons, Randy J. Larsen, Sharon Griffin.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the SWLS is to provide a quick, reliable, and globally applicable measure of how individuals evaluate their lives against their own set of criteria. It serves as a foundational tool in positive psychology and quality of life research, enabling researchers to quantify an individual’s reflective assessment of their life circumstances relative to their personal standards and goals.

The scale is designed to isolate the cognitive evaluation of life satisfaction from the emotional or affective components of well-being. This distinction ensures that the resultant score reflects a stable, high-level appraisal of one’s life trajectory and current conditions, making it an invaluable metric for longitudinal studies and cross-cultural comparisons of overall well-being.

Construct

The SWLS measures the cognitive component of the broader concept of Subjective Well-Being (SWB). SWB is traditionally conceptualized as consisting of two independent major elements: the affective component (the presence of positive affect and absence of negative affect) and the cognitive component (global life satisfaction).

The construct focuses on the judgment process whereby the individual compares their life—including achievements, relationships, and opportunities—to what they consider to be their ideal or desired life. The five items are intentionally non-domain specific to capture this holistic and personalized assessment, allowing respondents to apply their own definitions of success and fulfillment.

Validity

Extensive validation studies have consistently supported the validity of the SWLS across diverse populations. Convergent validity was established early on through high correlations with other prominent well-being measures, including the Fordyce Scale and the Giunn Scale, confirming that the SWLS measures a construct similar to general happiness instruments.

Crucially, the SWLS demonstrates strong discriminant validity, particularly through its low correlation coefficient (.09) with measures of affect intensity. This low correlation confirms that the SWLS successfully captures the stable, cognitive judgment aspect of well-being, demonstrating that scores are not unduly influenced by transient emotional states, thereby increasing its scientific utility as a robust measure of life satisfaction.

Reliability

The SWLS exhibits high internal consistency, meaning the five items reliably measure the same underlying construct. Early psychometric analyses reported high Cronbach’s alpha coefficients, confirming the homogeneity of the items. Additionally, the scale demonstrates good test-retest reliability, indicating that an individual’s score is stable over time, which is essential for a measure designed to capture a global, enduring evaluation of life rather than temporary mood fluctuations.

Factor Analysis

The original research and subsequent validation studies (Diener et al., 1985) have confirmed the structural integrity of the SWLS. Factor analysis consistently reveals a single dominant factor. This unidimensional structure confirms that all five items load heavily onto one component—the overall cognitive judgment of life satisfaction—supporting the use of a single total score as the primary metric derived from the instrument.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report psychological inventory

Format: 7-point Likert scale

Language Available: Numerous translations available globally, adapted for cross-cultural research.

Population Group: General population, including clinical and non-clinical samples.

Age Group: Adolescents and adults who are capable of making global cognitive judgments.

Population Details: Suitable for a wide range of educational and cultural backgrounds due to the non-specific and interpretive nature of the scale items.

Test Methodology: Paper-and-pencil or digital administration; extremely quick administration time (approximately one minute).

Keywords

Psychometrics, Well-Being Assessment, Quality of Life Scale, Diener, Cognitive Appraisal, Global Satisfaction, Measurement Tool.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not specified in source.

Affiliation Email addresses: Contact information typically available through the original developers’ institutional affiliations (e.g., University of Illinois).

Correspondence Address: Correspondence details typically link to the current academic affiliations of the developing authors.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) was first published in 1985. It is widely used and generally considered available for non-commercial academic research and clinical application without charge, provided that the original source and authors are properly cited. Users should consult the official website maintained by the developers for the most current usage policies and licensing requirements for commercial applications.

Reference’s

Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The Satisfaction with Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71-75. The official information and scale items are often referenced here: http://internal.psychology.illinois.edu/~ediener/SWLS.html

Pavot, W. G., Diener, E., Colvin, C. R., & Sandvik, E. (1991). Further validation of the Satisfaction with Life Scale: Evidence for the cross-method convergence of well-being measures. Journal of Personality Assessment, 57, 149-161.

Items of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)

Instructions: Below are five statements that you may agree or disagree with. Indicate your agreement with each item by selecting the appropriate box, ranging from Strongly Agree (7) to Strongly Disagree (1). Please be open and honest in your responding.

The scoring range is 5 (minimum) to 35 (maximum).

Scoring Interpretation:

• 30 – 35: Extremely satisfied
• 25 – 29: Satisfied
• 20 – 24: Slightly satisfied
• 15 – 19: Slightly dissatisfied
• 10 – 14: Dissatisfied
• 5 – 9: Extremely dissatisfied

Scale Items:

1. In most ways my life is close to my ideal.
2. The conditions of my life are excellent.
3. I am satisfied with my life.
4. So far I have gotten the important things I want in life.
5. If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing.