Comparative Latent State-Trait Analysis of Satisfaction with Life Measures: The Steen Happiness Index and the Satisfaction with Life Scale

The variance in satisfaction with life can be broken down into trait- and state-like components. We ran tests to determine if a new scale for the measurement of satisfaction with life, the Steen Happiness Index (SHI), was more sensitive to situational changes than the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), which is currently used as a gold standard, with well-established state-trait characteristics. The study consisted of 292 young adults aged 18-35, who were recruited and interviewed three times with 5-month intervals at their places of residence. They completed a set of questionnaires involving the SHI and the SWLS. A latent autoregressive state-trait model showed an adequate fit, chi(2) (56) = 81.35, p = .02, chi(2)/df = 1.45, RMSEA = .06, CFI = .98, SRMR = .06. The results indicated that the two scales are strongly correlated on the trait level (r = .98) and on the occasion-specific level (between r = .53 and r = .65) variables. For both scales, stable and occasion-specific influences determine inter-individual differences. For both scales, it is not possible to predict half of the variance by either traits or states measured earlier in time.