Life Satisfaction Index – Z

Life Satisfaction Index – Z is a 13-item subjective measure developed to assess well-being in the elderly population.

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Area of Assessment

Assessment Type

Administration Mode

Cost

Actual Cost

Populations

Key Descriptions

• 13 item instrument, score ranges from 0 to 26 with two points given for each positive response, 0 for each negative response, and 1 for each don’t know response

Number of Items

Equipment Required

• Questionnaire

Time to Administer

Required Training

Age Ranges

Instrument Reviewers

Muna Bhattarai, MA, MNS, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Mirang Park, MS, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Susan Miller Smedema, Ph.D., CRC, LPC, University of Wisconsin-Madison

ICF Domain

Measurement Domain

Professional Association Recommendation

Considerations

• There is limited data on psychometric properties for this instrument. Further research is needed to establish adequate validity and reliability of the instrument among different elderly populations.
• Reported validity for women living in rural areas is substantially low (r = .42); therefore, the scale should be utilized cautiously with older rural women.
• Even though the tool was developed for the elderly population, age has not been specified and it has also been used in middle aged adults.

Older Adults and Geriatric Care

Standard Error of Measurement (SEM)

Elderly population: (Baiyewu & Jegede, 1992; n = 945; mean satisfaction with life score = 18.26 (5.12), Nigerian Sample)

• SEM for entire group (n = 945): 2.70

Calculated from standard deviation (Baiyewu & Jegede, 1992)

Minimal Detectable Change (MDC)

Elderly population: (Baiyewu & Jegede, 1992; n = 945; mean satisfaction with life score = 18.26 (5.12))

• MDC for entire group (n = 945): 7.51

Calculated from standard deviation (Baiyewu & Jegede, 1992)

Normative Data

Older Adults: Stock, 1982, n=325, age = 73 (8.2)

• Mean score 46.84 (5.95)

Older Adults: Morgan, 1987, n=986)

• Age 65-74 Mean score: 17.1 (5.6)
• Age 75+ Mean score: 13.0 (2.8)

Elderly population (Nigeria): (Baiyewu & Jegede, 1992; n = 945)

• Overall mean: 18.26 with variance 26.22.
• Mean for ages 60-74 years: 18.04± 5.25
• Mean score (SD) for those aged 75 years and over:18.15 ±5.01
• Mean score (SD) for men: 17.48(±5.58)
• Mean for women: 18.43( ± 4.87)

Internal Consistency

Elderly population: (Wood et al., 1969; n = 100)

Older Adults: Stock, 1982, n=325, age = 73 (8.2)

• Excellent: Kuder-Richardson 20 reliability of 0.80.

Older Adults: Morgan, 1987, n=986)

Elderly population (Nigeria): (Baiyewu & Jegede, 1992; n = 945)

• Adequate: Alpha Coefficient was 0.72

Elderly (Iran): (Tagharrobi et al., 2011; n = 75)

• Adequate: Cronbach alpha ranged from 0.78 to 0.79.

Elderly with frailty and depression: (Abraham, 1992; n = 76)

• Poor: Kuder-Richardson 20 coefficient ranged from 0.11-0.60 with mean 0.42 (SD = .11) (18 administrations)

Construct Validity

Elderly population: (Wood et al., 1969; n = 100)

• Adequate: Convergent validity as shown by correlation coefficient between LSI-Z and Life Satisfaction Rating (r = 0.57).

Older Adults: Stock, 1982, n=325, age = 73 (8.2)

• Poor correlation with Positive Affect scale (0.33)
• Poor correlation with Negative Affect scale (-0.39)
• Adequate correlation with Quality of life item (.46)
• Adequate correlation with Life satisfaction item (.46)
• Adequate correlation with Mental well-being item (.46)
• Poor correlation with Composite drinking index (.03)

Older Adults: Morgan, 1987, n=986)

• Adequate correlation with social engagement score: ρ=0.49
• Adequate correlation with Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression score: ρ=0.-49

“LSI-Z scores were significantly different among the 5 known groups (p=0.0001, f=121.66); so, the known-groups approach revealed that this tool is valid” (Tagharrobi et al., 2011)

*Retrieved from abstract since the original article is in the Persian language.

Women in menopausal ages: (Dennerstein et al., 2002; n = 395)

• Excellent: Convergent validity as shown by association of LSI-Z with Satisfaction with Life Scale (r = 0.70).

Bibliography

Abraham, I. L. (1992). Longitudinal reliability of the life satisfaction index (short form) with nursing home residents: A cautionary note. Perceptual and Motor skills, 75(2), 665-666.

American Thoracic Society. (1999). Life satisfaction inventory. Retrieved from https://qol.thoracic.org/sections/instruments/ko/pages/lsia.html

Baiyewu, O. & Jegede, R. O. (1992). Life satisfaction in elderly Nigerians: Reliability and factor composition of the life satisfaction Index Z. Age and Ageing, 21(4), 256-261.

Dennerstein, L., Dudley, E., Guthrie, J., & Barrett-Connor, E. (2000). Life satisfaction, symptoms, and the menopausal transition. Medscape Women's Health, 5(4), E4-E4.

Tagharrobi, Z., Tagharrobi, L., Sharifi, K., Sooki, Z., Nele, S., Ghotbi, N., . & Khosravi, S. (2011). XML Psychometric evaluation of the Life Satisfaction Index-Z (LSI-Z) in an Iranian elderly sample. Payesh, 11, 5-13.

Wood, V., Wylie, M. L., & Sheafor, B. (1969). An analysis of a short self-report measure of life satisfaction: Correlation with rater judgments. Journal of Gerontology, 24(4), 465-469.

Morgan K, Dallass HM, ArieT, ByneES, Jones R, Waite J. Mental health and psychological well being among the old and very old living at home. Br J Psychiatry 1987;150:801-7.

Stock, William A. PhD, Morris A. Okun, PhD, The Construct Validity of Life Satisfaction among the Elderly, Journal of Gerontology, Volume 37, Issue 5, September 1982, Pages 625–627, https://doi-org.ezproxy.galter.northwestern.edu/10.1093/geronj/37.5.625

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