global life satisfaction, the SLSS can be a useful assessment tool for applied professionals (e.g., screening pur-
poses) and researchers in this field (e.g., large-scale assessments). Additional research on its sensitivity to chang-
ing life conditions and interventions would be particularly beneficial.
STUDENTS’ LIFE SATISFACTION SCALE
We would like to know what thoughts about life you
have had during the past several weeks. Think about how
you spend each day and night and then think about how
your life has been during most of this time. Here are
some questions that ask you to indicate your satisfaction
with your overall life. Circle the words next to each state-
ment that indicate the extent to which you agree or dis-
agree with each statement. It is important to know what
you REALLY think, so please answer the questions the
way you really think, not how you should think. This is
NOT a test. There are NO right or wrong answers.
1/C0Strongly disagree; 2 /C0Moderately disagree;
3/C0Mildly disagree; 4 /C0Mildly agree; 5 /C0Moderately
agree; 6 /C0Strongly agree1.My life is going well.
2.My life is just right.
3.I would like to change many things in my life.*
4.I wish I had a different kind of life.*
5.I have a good life.
6.I have what I want in life.
7.My life is better than most kids.
Note: *Reverse keyed item.
Copyright r1994 by the American Psychological
Association. Source: http://artsandsciences.sc.edu/psyc/
faculty/Scott_Huebner (Retrieved May 9, 2014).
Reproduced with permission.
Perceived Life Satisfaction Scale (PLSS)
(Adelman et al., 1989 )
Variable
The Perceived Life Satisfaction Scale (PLSS) was developed within the context of studying psychosocial pro-
blems in young people of ages 8 to 18 years. As most of the prior research in this age group focused on dissatis-
faction with school experiences in particular, the PLSS was developed to expand the range of children’s reports
of their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with respect to additional major aspects of their daily lives (i.e., material
and physical well-being, relationships, environment, personal development and fulfillment, and recreation and
entertainment).
Description
The PLSS consists of 19 items that measure the degree of satisfaction/dissatisfaction with different facets of
minors’ lives. The PLSS utilizes a 6-point response scale that needs to be converted when scoring for dissatisfac-
tion of the respondents’ answers (i.e., low ratings, 1 and 2, are scored as 2; moderate ratings, 3 and 4, are rated as
1; high ratings, 5 and 6, are rated as 0). The PLSS scoring ranges between 0 (low dissatisfaction) and 38 (high dis-
satisfaction) by summing all 19 items. Researchers have also calculated simple sums of items to create a total
score (e.g., ranging from 1 5very dissatisfied to 65very satisfied ), yielding a total score of between 19 and 114,
where higher scores represent higher life satisfaction (e.g., Huebner & Dew, 1993a,b ).
Sample
Four samples have been reported in Adelman et al. (1989) . Samples 1, 2, and 3 consisted of 221, 179, and 68
school students, respectively, with mean ages of 14.5 years, 13.2 years, and 12.9 years, respectively. Sample 1 was
mostly represented by ethnic minorities (70%), while samples 2 and 3 were not (i.e., 16% and 13%, respectively).
The fourth sample was a mental health sample consisting of students who were referred by their schools to a
mental health center for treatment. It consisted of 47 children with a mean age of 11.1 years. About one fourth
(24%) were represented by ethnic minorities. Twenty-five students showed emotionally based pervasive school
behavior problems, 15 students showed underachievement, and seven students showed school avoidance.
The means of the total PLSS were 8.6 ( SD55.9; sample 1), 7.0 ( SD54.1; sample 2), and 7.8 ( SD54.7; sample 3).122 5. MEASURES OF LIFE SATISFACTION ACROSS THE LIFESPAN
II. EMOTIONAL DISPOSITIONS