Life Satisfaction Scale

Aim: To assess the level of life satisfaction of the adult using life satisfaction scale.

Introduction
Life satisfaction

Life satisfaction is a bit more complex than it seems; the term is sometimes used interchangeably
with happiness, but they are indeed two separate concepts. Life satisfaction is the evaluation of
one’s life as a whole, not simply one’s current level of happiness.

Some of the researchers defined life satisfaction as

Buetell( 2006) defined “An overall assessment of feelings and attitudes about one’s life at a
particular point in time ranging from negative to positive.”

Veenhoven(1996) quoted, “Life satisfaction is the degree to which a person positively evaluates
the overall quality of his/her life as a whole. In other words, how much the person likes the life
he/she leads.”

Ellison(1989) stated, “A cognitive assessment of an underlying state thought to be relatively

consistent and influenced by social factors.”

Although there are small differences between the definitions, the underlying idea is the same: life
satisfaction refers to an individual’s overall feelings about his or her life. In other words, life
satisfaction is a global evaluation rather than one that is grounded at any specific point in time or
in any specific domain.

Life satisfaction is not only more stable and long-lived than happiness, it is also broader in scope.
It is our general feeling about our life and how pleased we are with how it’s going. There are
many factors that contribute to life satisfaction from a number of domains, including work,
romantic relationships, relationships with family and friends, personal development, health and
wellness, and others.

Importance

Not only does greater life satisfaction make us feel happier and simply enjoy life more, it also
has a positive impact on our health and well-being.

Research has found that life satisfaction is strongly correlated with health-related factors like
chronic illness, sleep problems, pain, obesity, smoking, anxiety, and physical activity (Strine,
Chapman, Balluz, Moriarty, & Mokdad, 2008). The relationship may move in both directions,
but it’s clear that life satisfaction and health go hand in hand—increase or enhance one, and the
other will likely soon follow.

Further, a recent study by researchers at Chapman University found that life satisfaction is
actually related to a reduced risk of mortality! In addition, frequent fluctuations in life
satisfaction have been shown to be particularly harmful for health and longevity (Boehm,
Winning, Kubzansky, & Segerstrom, 2015).

Methods and materials

Subject particulars

 Name- Amit
 Age- 26 years
 Gender- Male
 Qualification- Post-graduate

Material required

 LSS inventory
 LSS manual
 Response sheet
 Pen
 Pencil
 Eraser

About the test

The life satisfaction scale was developed by Singh & Joseph in 1971. The test is applicable for
the people ranging from 25 to 55 years of age. The test consists of 35 items. It is based on the
following dimensions like taking pleasure in everyday activities, considering life meaningful,
holding a positive self-image, having a happy and optimistic outlook and feeling success in
achieving goals. The test consists of 5 point scale with the options like Always, Often,
Sometimes, Seldom and Never. A composite score for each subject was worked out for this
measure. The range of the raw score is 35-175. The constructor has given the specified z-score
for all the possible raw scores. Specified grade and interpretation has given for the same.
Reliability of the test was found on the basis of test-retest coefficient of correlation was found to
be 0.91 which is significant at .01 level of significance. Validity is measured with the help of the
coefficient of correlation was found to be 0.83, which is significant at .01 level of significance.
Control
1. Proper lightning was maintained.
2. Noise was controlled during the test.
3. Subject should be informed clearly about the test and its objective.

Precautions
1. It was checked that the subject has answered all the statements.
2. Scale must be handled with care.
3. Manipulation of the statements must be avoided.

Procedure
The subject was brought to the lab and was made to sit comfortably after establishing a proper
rapport, following main instructions were given:

Instructions
“This is a test to assess your life satisfaction using LSS-sj. You have to put a cross mark against
the each statement, the statement has a 5-point scale and it consists of options like Always,
Often, Sometimes, Seldom and Never. You need to put a cross against the option that suits you
the best. There will be no correct or incorrect responses for the statements given. There will be
no time limit to fill-up the scale but avoid pondering over any statement for long. Please give the
honest responses and don’t skip any of the statements as no one is going to judge your responses.
The confidentiality of your results will be maintained. So, if you have any problem in
understanding any of the items than ask to me but don’t manipulate it accordingly.”

Actual procedure
The subject was called to the lab and proper rapport was established and proper instructions were
given to the subject. The doubts of the subject were cleared before the conduction of test. After
the conduction was done, it was checked that the subject has answered all the items. After that
the result was obtained.
Result
As shown in the result table.

Result table
Total score Z-score Grade Interpretation
140 +1.21 B High

Discussion
The aim of the test was to assess the level of life satisfaction of the adult using life satisfaction
scale. Subject was called to the lab and proper rapport was established. Proper instructions were
given to the subject before the conduction of test and after its conduction scoring was done by
calculating the scores and after that the score was converted to z-score as mentioned in the
manual. The test has 35 items with 5-point scale against each of the statement. Result was
calculated by adding the scores and then converting that raw score into z-score as directed by the
manual after that grade and interpretation was made on the basis of the z-score obtained. The
subject scored 140 than that raw score was converted to the z-score with the help of the table
given in the manual i.e. +1.21 which is regarded as the grade B and from this it can be
interpreted that the subject has high life satisfaction which means that subject is quite satisfied in
his life and wanted some more from the life in order to become extremely satisfied.

Summary
The aim of the test was to assess the level of life satisfaction of the adult using life satisfaction
scale. At first the subject was called to the lab and was made to sit comfortably after that proper
rapport was established. After that the test was administered on the subject in the controlled
situation. Then the score was calculated according to the guidelines of manual and on the basis
of the score interpretation was made. The subject raw score was 140 and this was converted to z-
score that came out to be +1.21 and the grade associated with this score is B that can be
interpreted as high life satisfaction which means that the subject was quite satisfied with his life.
References

Boehm, J. K., Winning, A., Segerstrom, S., & Kubzansky, L. D. (2015). Variability modifies life
satisfaction’s association with mortality risk in older adults. Psychological Science, 26, 1063-
1070. doi:10.1177/0956797615581491

Buetell, N. (2006). Life satisfaction, a Sloan Work and Family Encyclopedia entry. Work and
Family Researchers Network. Retrieved from https://workfamily.sas.upenn.edu/glossary/l/life-
satisfaction-definition.

Ellison, C. G., Gay, D. A., & Glass, T. A. (1989). Does religious commitment contribute to
individual life satisfaction? Social Forces, 68, 100-123.

Singh, P. & Joseph, G. (1971). Revised Manual for Life Satisfaction Scale. National
Psychological Corporation.

Strine, T. W., Chapman, D. P., Balluz, L. S., Moriarty, D. G., & Mokdad, A. H. (2008). The
associations between life satisfaction and health-related quality of life, chronic illness, and health
behaviors among U.S. community-dwelling adults. Journal of Community Health, 33, 40-50.
doi:10.1007/s10900-007-9066-4.

Veenhoven, R. (1996). The study of life satisfaction. In W. E. Saris, R. Veenhoven, A. C.

Scherpenzeel, & B. Bunting (Eds.) A Comparative Study of Satisfaction with Life in Europe (pp.
11-48). Budapest, Hungary: Eötvös University Press.