FURTHER VALIDATION OF THE SATISFACTION WITH LIFE SCALE - EVIDENCE FOR THE CROSS-METHOD CONVERGENCE OF WELL-BEING MEASURES

The structure of subjective wellbeing has been conceptualized as consisting of two major components: the emotional or affective component and the judgmental or cognitive component (Diener, 1984; Vcenhoven, 1984). The judgmental component has also been conceptualized as life satisfaction (Andrews Wit hey, 19761. Although the affective- component of subjective wellbeing has received considerable attention from researchers., the judgmental component has been relatively neglected. The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen, 6k Griffin, 1985) was developed as a measure of the judgmental component of subjective wellbeing (SWR). Two studies designed to validate further the SWLS are reported. Peer reports, a memory measure, and clinical ratings are used as external criteria for validation. Evidence for the reliability and predictive validity of the SWLS is presented, and its performance is compared to other related scales. The SWLS is shown to be a valid and reliable measure of life satisfaction, suited for use with, a wide range of age group; and applications, which makes possible the savings of interview time and resources compared to manv measures of life satisfaction. In addition, the high convergence of self- and peer-reported measures of subjective wellbeing and life satisfaction provide strong evidence that subjective wellbeing is a relatively global and stable phenomenon, not simply a momentary judgment based on fleeting influences. © 1991, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.