posted 03-09-2007 11:19 PM            

While the SWLS has stable enough psychometic properties to be used to assess change, the construct it measures, life satisfaction, may be a tough choice for showing long-term improvement from treatment. There is a phenomenon called the "hedonic treadmill" whereby people's expectations for life tend to increase as fast as their situation improves. There is a realtively recent review article that concludes that the treadmill may at least have some incline. However, that does not negate that initial increases in life satisfaction due to improvement in function or status are frequently followed by declines.

I suggest you do a search for the term "hedonic treadmill". If the program is improving affective status, think about using a direct measure of affect, like the Positive and Negative Affective States (PANAS) or a measure of depression or anxiety.

I hope this helps.

John Corrigan

quote:

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Originally posted by eramsay:
Is there any evidence that the SWLS can be used as a pre-post assessment? I'm working with a case management provider that provides intensive services for 6 month to year and is looking for a tool that is somewhat sensitive to changes over time.

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