Life Satisfaction Inventory

Name of Questionnaire
Life Satisfaction Inventory-A (LSI-A); Life Satisfaction Inventory-Z (LSI- Z)

Developer
BL Neugarten, RJ Havighurst, SS Tobin

Cost & availability

None; instrument is in the public domain

Administration
Self

Time to complete
5 minutes

Number of items
20 in original instrument (LSI-A). A modification of the instrument, the LSI-Z, has 13 items.

Domains & categories

5

Name of categories/domains
Zest for life; resolution and fortitude; congruence between desired and achieved goals; high
physical, psychological, and social self-concept; happy, optimistic mood tone.

Scaling of items
Agree, disagree, or not sure

Scoring
Total scale score based on number of subject agreements with specific responses to individual
items (possible range for LSI-A with one point given for each agreement: 0-20; possible range for
LSI-Z with 2 points given for each agreement: 0-26)

Reliability
a. Testretest/reproducibility
b. Internal consistency

Not reported. "Consistency" of measurement reported to be best in

people over age 65.
Reported

Validity
Content validity assured by items based on repeated interviews with people aged 50 - 90 years
about life pattern, attitudes, values, daily activities, social interaction, and other concerns.
Construct validity demonstrated through correlations between LSI-A and a Life Satisfaction Rating
and between LSI-Z and a Life Satisfaction Rating. Factor analysis of the LSI-A produced 4 factors,
of which 3 were interpretable: mood tone; zest for life; and congruence.

Responsiveness
Not reported

Minimally important difference

Not determined.

Research use
Reported in studies of women with COPD, and spouse caregivers to men with COPD. Used widely in
gerontology.

Clinical use
Not reported.

Language
Original: English

References
1.

Adams DL. Analysis of a life satisfaction index. J Gerontol 1969;24;470-474.

2.

Neugarten BL, Havighurst RJ, Tobin SS. The measurement of life satisfaction. J Gerontol
1961;16;134-143.

3.

Sexton DL, Munro BH. Impact of a husband's chronic illness (COPD) on the spouse's life.
Res Nurs Health 1985;8,83-90.

4.

Sexton DL, Munro BH. Living with a chronic illness: The experience of women with chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). W J Nurs Res 1988;10:26-44.

5.

Wood V, Wylie ML, Sheafor B. An analysis of a short self-report measure of life satisfaction:
Correlation with rater judgments. J Gerontol 1969;24:465- 469.

Date of information
March 1999

Source : http://qol.thoracic.org/sections/instruments/ko/pages/lsia.html