Reliability and Validity of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) in a Greek Sample

Abstract

The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) was developed by Diener et al. (1985) in order to assess the cognitive component of subjective well-being and is probably the most used scale in scientific literature on life satisfaction worldwide. The scale includes five items which assess the overall level of the individual's satisfaction with life. Respondents answer in a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Items are added up in order to yield a total score of life satisfaction. The possible range of scores is between 5 and 35, with greater scores signifying higher satisfaction with life. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the SWLS and specifically to assess (1) the internal structure and reliability, (2) the factorial structure, and (3) the construct validity of the scale. Finally, the study seeks to establish normative ranges for scores on the SWLS. The study was carried out in a sample of 1797 Greek adults (40.4% men, 59.6% women), aging from 18 to 67 years old. Results showed that the SWLS has satisfactory inter-item correlations, reliability and validity. The psychometric properties of the scale were similar to those of validation studies in other countries, thus allowing us to establish a global and cross-cultural notion of Life satisfaction as well as to enhance the utilization of the scale for the measurement of satisfaction with life in Greek population.