Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS)
What it is
The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) is a brief 5-item self-report measure of global life satisfaction — the cognitive, evaluative component of subjective wellbeing. Rather than focusing on specific life domains (such as work or relationships) or moment-to-moment emotional states, the SWLS asks individuals to reflect on their overall sense of satisfaction with their life as a whole, using their own standards and criteria.
The SWLS is one of the most widely used and validated measures of subjective wellbeing in both research and clinical contexts, with strong psychometric properties demonstrated across cultures, age groups, and populations.
How is it used
- Suitable for adults and young people; has been validated across a wide age range
- Takes approximately 1–2 minutes to complete
- Provides a single global life satisfaction score
- Used to complement symptom or distress measures by capturing positive functioning
- Sensitive to change during clinical intervention, making it suitable for monitoring treatment progress
- Freely available for use by researchers and practitioners, with appropriate citation
What do the scores mean?
Each of the five items is rated on a 7-point scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree), giving a total score range of 5 to 35. Higher scores reflect greater global life satisfaction.
Interpretive categories (Diener et al., 1985):
- 31–35: Extremely satisfied
- 26–30: Satisfied
- 21–25: Slightly satisfied
- 20: Neutral
- 15–19: Slightly dissatisfied
- 10–14: Dissatisfied
- 5–9: Extremely dissatisfied
The average person in community samples tends to score in the "slightly satisfied" range. Adults in mental health settings tend to score lower — a pooled sample of clients in mental health settings had a mean score of approximately 17 (Arrindell et al., 2001). A change of 3 or more points is considered a meaningful difference.
The SWLS has high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha .79–.89 across studies) and good test-retest reliability (.82 over two months). It has been validated across more than 23 countries.
Developer
The SWLS was developed by Ed Diener, Robert Emmons, Randy Larsen, and Sharon Griffin (1985). It is freely available for use by researchers and practitioners.
References:
Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The Satisfaction With Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71–75.
Pavot, W., & Diener, E. (1993). Review of the Satisfaction With Life Scale. Psychological Assessment, 5(2), 164–172.
Pavot, W., & Diener, E. (2008). The Satisfaction With Life Scale and the emerging construct of life satisfaction. Journal of Positive Psychology, 3(2), 137–152.