Wellbeing
Life satisfaction
5 questions · 2 min
This is one of the most widely used questionnaires about life satisfaction, meaning how you judge your life as a whole by your own standards. It doesn’t ask about any single area like work or relationships. Instead, you weigh up whatever matters most to you.
Life satisfaction often shifts with what’s happening in your life, so it’s most useful to look at how your score changes over time.
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What it shows
How satisfied you feel with your life overall, right now.
What it doesn’t
A diagnosis, or a measure of how happy you feel from moment to moment.
Who it’s for
This is for you if you want to step back and ask how your life is going overall, by your own standards. It can be useful at a turning point, like a new year, a birthday, a change of job or the end of a relationship.
It’s also a good one to repeat. Taking it every month or so shows whether your sense of how life is going is rising, falling or holding steady.
Questions people ask
What does the SWLS measure?
It measures life satisfaction: how you judge your life as a whole, using whatever matters most to you. It doesn’t look at any one area such as work, health or relationships.
How long does it take?
About two minutes. You rate five statements from “Strongly disagree” to “Strongly agree”.
How is it scored?
Each statement scores 1 to 7 and the five are added up, giving a score from 5 to 35. Higher means more satisfied. Your result is placed in one of six bands based on Ed Diener’s guide to the scale, from very dissatisfied (5 to 9) to very satisfied (30 to 35).
Is life satisfaction the same as happiness?
Not quite. How happy you feel can rise and fall within a single day. Life satisfaction is a more considered judgement about how your life is going overall.
How often can I retake it?
Every four weeks or so works well. Life satisfaction often shifts with what’s happening in your life, so changes over time tell you more than one score.
What if my score is low?
A low score is a signal worth listening to, not a verdict on you. If you’ve felt dissatisfied for a while, a counsellor, your doctor or someone you trust can help you sort through what’s weighing on you and find small steps forward.
Where it comes from
Developed by psychologist Ed Diener and colleagues at the University of Illinois in 1985.
Satisfaction with Life Scale
On iPhone or iPad?
Sprout is an app there too, and this link opens the test straight away if you have it.
Coming soon to the App Store