Satisfaction With Family Life Scale

Abstract

We wanted to present validity and reliability data for the Satisfaction With Family Life (SWFL) scale. This instrument has been successfully used in a variety of family samples and offers a brief, widely applicable tool to measure satisfaction with family life. The SWFL scale, modeled after the Satisfaction With Life scale, was designed to assess an individual's global judgment of family satisfaction, which is theoretically predicted to depend on a comparison of family life circumstances with one's own standards and expectations. The scale consists of five items on a Likert-type scale. Data were collected from parents and adolescents in 15 different family samples that vary across time, place, and culture. Across all samples a consistent unidimensional factor structure was maintained, with Cronbach's alpha ranging from .94 to .79. Evidence of usability, criterion, and construct validity were also established. The SWFL scale consistently distinguishes differences in family satisfaction among samples that would theoretically be predicted to have different levels of family satisfaction. The SWFL scale provides a brief, psychometrically sound, and widely applicable option for measuring satisfaction with family life.

KEYWORDS:

• family satisfaction
• measurement
• satisfaction with family life

Notes

*Cronbach's alpha.

National sample (n = 898).

All correlations above are significant at p < .001 (two-tailed).

All correlations above are significant at p < .01 (two-tailed) unless specified: *=p < .05; ns = not significant. (p), parent; (y), youth.