Assessing the validity of single-item life satisfaction measures: results from three large samples
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Purpose The present paper assessed the validity of single-item life satisfaction measures by comparing single-item measures to the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)-a more psychometrically established measure. Methods Two large samples from Washington (N = 13,064) and Oregon (N = 2,277) recruited by the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and a representative German sample (N = 1,312) recruited by the Germany Socio-Economic Panel were included in the present analyses. Single-item life satisfaction measures and the SWLS were correlated with theoretically relevant variables, such as demographics, subjective health, domain satisfaction, and affect. The correlations between the two life satisfaction measures and these variables were examined to assess the construct validity of single-item life satisfaction measures. Results Consistent across three samples, single-item life satisfaction measures demonstrated substantial degree of criterion validity with the SWLS (zero-order r = 0.62-0.64; disattenuated r = 0.78-0.80). Patterns of statistical significance for correlations with theoretically relevant variables were the same across single-item measures and the SWLS. Single-item measures did not produce systematically different correlations compared to the SWLS (average difference = 0.001-0.005). The average absolute difference in the magnitudes of the correlations produced by single-item measures and the SWLS was very small (average absolute difference = 0.015-0.042). Conclusions Single-item life satisfaction measures performed very similarly compared to the multiple-item SWLS. Social scientists would get virtually identical answer to substantive questions regardless of which measure they use.
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The life satisfaction instrument was reliable with a retest reliability of around 0.70 and performs very similarly to its multiple-item counterpart.
“This instrument was found to be reliable with a retest reliability of around 0.70 (Lucas and Donnellan 2012) and to perform very similarly to its multiple-item counterpart (Cheung and Lucas 2014).”
From Patterns of Romantic Relationship Experiences and Psychosocial Adjustment From Adolescence to Young Adulthood (2021) · cites this paper as Cheung and Lucas 2014
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“Several renowned researchers have concluded, however, that one item can be as reliable, and more effective, compared to a longer scale (Bowling, 2005; Cheung & Lucas, 2014).”
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- Authors
- Cheung, F., & Lucas, R. E.
- Affiliations
- Michigan State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Cheung, Felix
- Venue
- Quality of Life Research
- Published
- 2014-06-03
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 2809-2818
- ISSN
- 0962-9343 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-2649
- PMC
- PMC4221492
- OpenAlex
- W1977617447
- Cited by
- 1,123
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2026: 176 · 2025: 161 · 2024: 133 · 2023: 128 · 2022: 111 · 2021: 122 · 2020: 93 · 2019: 66 · 2018: 62 · 2017: 36 · 2016: 25 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 1 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 34.62
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Quality of Life Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- The HKU Scholars Hub (University of Hong Kong) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- National Institute on Aging (AG040715, R01AG040715)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life
- Keywords
- Satisfaction with Life Scale, construct validity, criterion validity, subjective well-being, cross-cultural comparison, self-rated health, affect, domain satisfaction
- MeSH terms
- Female, Germany, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Personal Satisfaction, Psychometrics, Quality of Life, Surveys and Questionnaires
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