The Satisfaction with Life Scale in Namibia

Since the 1980s, research on subjective well-being has increased dramatically (Diener, 2009). Developed in 1985, the 5-item scale Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) was designed to efficiently assess subjective well-being, combined across different life domains. Well-being is important because happy people have found to be on average more productive, sociable, tend to live longer and earn higher incomes (e.g., Diener, 2000; Diener, Diener, & Diener, 1995; Staw, Sutton, & Pelled, 1994), which is highly beneficial for a society. The SWLS has been employed in hundreds of studies. Good psychometric properties have been reported for English in translation to over 30 other languages (Diener, n.d.). The objective of the current study is to assess the psychometric properties and normative values of the SWLS in two new translations and in a relatively representative sample of Namibians in three languages (including English). This assessment of the SWLS’s applicability to and utility in Namibia, including its measurement invariance across language groups is provided to establish it as a valid measure for research in the Namibian context.