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Satisfaction with Life Scale in a Representative Sample of Spanish Adults: Validation and Normative Data

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 October 2013

Carmelo Vázquez ,
Almudena Duque  and
Gonzalo Hervás
Carmelo Vázquez*
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense (Spain)
Almudena Duque
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense (Spain)
Gonzalo Hervás
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense (Spain)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Carmelo Vázquez. Facultad de Psicología. Campus de Somosaguas. 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón - Madrid (Spain). 28223. Phone: +34–913943090. Fax: 34–913943189. E-mail: cvazquez@psi.ucm.es
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Abstract

The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) is a measure widely used to assess life satisfaction. This paper aims to test its psychometric properties, factor structure, and distribution scores across age, gender, education, and employment status. For this purpose, a representative sample of the Spanish population (N = 2,964) was used. Although analyses showed no significant differences across age or gender, participants with higher education level and those who held an occupation were more satisfied with their lives. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a unifactorial structure with significant correlations between the SWLS, and subjective happiness and social support. The internal consistency of the scale was .88. Thus, our results indicate that the Spanish version of the SWLS is a valid and reliable measure of life satisfaction within the Spanish context.

Keywords

life satisfactionwell-beingvalidityreliabilityfactor analysis
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 16 , 2013 , E82
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2013 

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Footnotes

We would like to thank Romina Jullian (Chile), Alejandra Santos (Dominican Republic), Angie Vigo Catter (Peru), Minerva Cazares (Mexico), Vickie Andrews (USA) and Macarena Rodríguez (Argentina) for their help during the translation process of the scale, and Juanjo Rahona, Sergio M. Vergara, and Covadonga Chaves for their collaboration in the different stages of the study. Moreover, we wish to thank the Coca-Cola Happiness Institute and Jesús Gallardo, Isabel de Julián and Margarita Álvarez for their help in using the study’s database and Félix Caballero and Alberto Maydeu-Olivares for their technical assistance during the data analysis.

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