Satisfaction with life scale: evidence of validity and reliability

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate construct validity and other psychometric properties of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) in the Brazilian context. To do so, three studies were conducted. Study I evaluated the discriminative power and the homogeneity of the items, the factor structure and the internal consistency of the scale. 101 individuals from the general population of Fortaleza (CE) participated, with ages from 18 to 94 years (M = 41.8; SD = 22.6), mostly female (57.4%), single (48.5%) and Catholic (60.4%). Results indicated a single factor structure and satisfactory internal consistency. The second study tested the factor structure through a confirmatory factor analysis. This study counted with 184 individuals from the general population of Fortaleza (CE), aged 18 to 85 years (M = 40.4; SD = 22.8), mostly female (53.3%), single (52.2%) and Catholic (62.5%). Results indicated satisfactory goodness-of-fit indexes, except for the RMSEA. Study III evaluated the temporal stability and convergent validity of the SWLS. 51 students from Fortaleza (CE) participated. The subjects were aged between 18 and 47 years old (M = 22.9; SD = 4.5), mostly male (56%), single (96.1%) and Catholic (48%). 34 participated on the retest. Data collection was performed in classrooms and retest was conducted after 30 days. Results indicated good temporal stability and significant correlations between life satisfaction and positive and negative affect. We conclude that the SWLS presented satisfactory levels of validity and reliability and can be used to predictive models involving mental health in Brazilian context