Your life satisfaction

What the score means

The score is the sum of your five answers. The six ranges come from a guide by Ed Diener, who led the development of the scale. He places the average in economically developed countries at 20–24. These are rough guide marks and not norms for your country.

Your five answers

Each answer goes from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). The first three are about your life now, and the last two look back.

• Close to your idealHow well your life matches the life you want.
  5
• Your conditionsHow good your circumstances are.
  4
• Satisfied with lifeYour overall judgement of your life.
  6
• Got what mattersWhether you have got the important things so far.
  5
• Would change littleWhether you would live it the same way again.
  6

What usually shapes the score

Life satisfaction has no single key. In his guide, Diener points to three areas that matter for most people.

• Relationships. Close, supportive family and friends are among the most important influences, and losing someone close can pull the score down for a long time.
• Work, school or another important role. It helps when what you do feels meaningful and fits your strengths, and when you are moving towards goals that matter to you.
• You and your own life. This includes how you feel about yourself, faith or spiritual life, learning, and free time. Health and temperament also play a part.

How you can use this

• Notice what is working, so you can protect it when life gets busy.
• Keep investing in your relationships and in goals that matter to you.
• Take the test again in a difficult period. The score can change, and that is normal.

What this test can tell you

• The scale measures how you judge your life, not how happy you feel from moment to moment.
• Your mood and recent events can affect your answers, so one score is a snapshot.
• It is not a diagnosis. A low score does not mean you have depression, and a high score does not rule it out.
• The ranges come from Diener's guide. We have no norms of our own, so the test cannot give you an exact comparison with others.

Sources

• The Satisfaction With Life Scale on Ed Diener's site
• Ed Diener: Understanding Scores on the Satisfaction with Life Scale