Flourishing Scale
What it is
The Flourishing Scale is an 8-item self-report measure of psychological flourishing, developed by Diener and colleagues (2010). It assesses eudaimonic wellbeing — the sense of meaning, purpose, positive relationships, engagement, competence, and self-acceptance that contribute to optimal human functioning — rather than hedonic wellbeing (pleasure and positive affect alone).
The Flourishing Scale was designed to complement the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), which captures life satisfaction as a cognitive judgement. Together, the two measures provide a comprehensive picture of both hedonic and eudaimonic dimensions of wellbeing. The scale has been validated across more than 30 countries and used with clinical and non-clinical populations.
How is it used
- Suitable for adults; has also been used with young people aged 12 and over in some contexts
- Takes approximately 2–3 minutes to complete
- Provides a single overall flourishing score
- No reverse-scored items
- Can be used to complement symptom measures by capturing positive aspects of functioning alongside distress
- Freely available for use by researchers and practitioners, with appropriate citation
What do the scores mean?
Each item is rated on a 7-point scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree), giving a total score range of 8 to 56. Higher scores reflect greater psychological flourishing.
Broadly applied interpretive bands:
- 48–56: High flourishing
- 40–47: Moderate flourishing
- 32–39: Average
- 24–31: Languishing
- 8–23: Low flourishing
Mean scores in US adult and college student samples are approximately 44–45 (Diener et al., 2010). The scale has good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .87 in US samples, .78–.89 across international samples) and demonstrates positive correlations with life satisfaction, positive emotions, optimism, and psychological wellbeing, and negative correlations with depression, anxiety, and stress.
Developer
The Flourishing Scale was developed by Ed Diener, Wirtz, Tov, Kim-Prieto, Choi, Oishi, and Biswas-Diener (2010), and is freely available from Ed Diener's laboratory.
References:
Diener, E., Wirtz, D., Tov, W., Kim-Prieto, C., Choi, D., Oishi, S., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2010). New well-being measures: Short scales to assess flourishing and positive and negative feelings. Social Indicators Research, 97(2), 143–156.
Silva, A. J., & Caetano, A. (2013). Validation of the Flourishing Scale and Scale of Positive and Negative Experience in Portugal. Social Indicators Research, 110(2), 469–478.