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2001 Version
Scott Huebner, Ph.D.
University of South Carolina
Department of Psychology
Columbia, SC 29208
Table of Contents
Pages
Introduction and Rationale
.
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...............2
Scale Structure ......
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.................3
Administration and
Scoring ..........................................
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...........4
Normative Data
.
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.................................5
Reliability
.
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..........................5
Validity ..
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................................5
Permission to Use .....................
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References
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.................... 6-8
Multidimensional Students’ Life
Satisfaction Scale:
Introduction and Rationale
The impetus for the construction of the
Multidimensional Students Life
Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS) was the
increased interest in the promotion of positive
psychological well-being in children
and adolescents (Compass, 1993; Sarason, 1997).
In contrast to models that infer well-
being from the absence of psychopathological
symptoms, the World Health Organization
(1964) defined health as a state of complete
physical, mental, and social well-
being. Psychologists, such as Cowen (1991),
shared
this perspective, arguing that
psychological well-being should be considered on
the
basis of positive indicators,
including indicators
like “a basic
satisfaction with oneself
and one’s
existence…or life satisfaction” (p. 404).
Life satisfaction has been
defined as a “global evaluation by the person of
his or
her life” (Pavot, Diener,
Colvin, & Sandvik, 1991, p. 150). Although
hundreds
of
studies of life
satisfaction of adults have been conducted (see
Diener, 1994;
Veenhoven, 1993), life
satisfaction in childhood has only recently become
the focus of
empirical work. Recent
investigations have demonstrated the incremental
importance
of t
he life
satisfaction construct in understanding children
and adolescents’
psychological well-
being. For example, life satisfaction reports
have been
differentiated from other
well-being constructs such as self-esteem (Terry &
Huebner,
1995; Lucas, Diener, & Suh,
1996; Huebner, Gilman, & Laughlin, 1999),
depression
(Lewinsohn, Redner, & Seely,
1991), positive affect (Lucas et al., 1996;
Huebner,
1991c; Huebner, & Dew, 1996),
and others.
Systematic research has
been hindered by the lack of well-validated
instruments
for children and
adolescents (Bender, 1977; Huebner, 1997). To
date, children’s life
satisfaction
instruments have been limited to unidimensional
measures of global or
general life
satisfaction, which yield only a single overall
score (e.g., Perceived Life
Satisfaction Scale: Adelman, Taylor, &
Nelson, 1989; Students’ Life Satisfaction
Scale: Dew & Huebner, 1994; Huebner,
1991a & b).
The MSLSS was designed to
provide a multidimensional profile of children’s
life satisfaction judgments. Such
differentiated assessments are expected to enable
more focused diagnostic, prevention,
and intervention efforts. For example, students
who indicate relatively high levels of
dissatisfaction with their family experiences
should necessitate different
intervention strategies than students who indicate
greater
dissatisfaction with their
school experiences. Such differentiated
assessments may
also yield more
revealing comparisons with traditional objective
indicators used to
assess the quality
of life of children and adolescents (e.g., divorce
rates, family income
levels, per pupil
expenditures on schooling).
Specifically, the MSLSS was designed to
(a) provide a profile of children’s
satisfaction with important, specific
domains (e.g., school, family, friends) in their
lives; (b) assess their general overall
life satisfaction; (c) demonstrate acceptable
psychometric properties (e.g.,
acceptable subscale reliability); (d) reveal a
replicable
factor structure indicating
the meaningfulness of the five dimensions; and (e)
be used
effectively with children
across a wide range of age (grades 3-12) and
ability levels
(e.g., children with
mild developmental disabilities through gifted
children).
Scale Structure
MSLSS Items
Family
I enjoy being at home with my family.
My family gets along well together.
I like spending time with my parents.
My parents and I doing fun things
together.
My family is better than
most.
Members of my family talk nicely
to one another.
My parents treat me
fairly.
Friends
My friends
treat me well.
My friends are nice to
me.
I wish I had different friends.*
My friends are mean to me.*
My friends are great
I have
a bad time with my friends.*
I have a
lot of fun with my friends.
I have
enough friends.
My friends will help me
if I need it.
School
I look
forward to going to school.
I like
being in school.
School is interesting.
I wish I didn’t have to go to
school.*
There are many
things about school I don’t like.*
I enjoy school activities.
I
learn a lot at school.
I feel bad at
school.*
Living Environment
I like where I live.
I wish
there were different people in my neighborhood.*
I wish I lived in a different house.*
I wish I lived somewhere else.*
I like my neighborhood.
I
like my neighbors.
This town is filled
with mean people.*
My family’s
ho
use is nice.
There are
lots of fun things to do where I live.