The Abbreviated 3-Item Versions of the Satisfaction With Life Scale and the Satisfaction With Love Life Scale

Abstract

The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and the Satisfaction with Love Life Scale (SWLLS) are cognitive measures of subjective well-being. Each scale includes 5 items. The major goals of this work were to analyze the psychometric features and validity of the abbreviated 3-item forms of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS-3) and the Satisfaction with Love Life Scale (SWLLS-3), as well as the measurement invariance (MI) by gender and age in a Portuguese population. The sample comprised 1,271 participants with an average age of 38 years. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) demonstrated that the two-dimensional model of SWLS-3 and of SWLLS-3 presented good fit indices. The reliability was adequate. Furthermore, these scales demonstrated MI across gender and age. The correlations of the 3- and 5-item measures with these well-being measures were very similar. Overall, the 3-item versions of the SWLS-3 and the SWLLS-3 are presented as valid and reliable measurement tools.