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Multidimensional%20Students%20Life%20Satisfaction%20Scale%20(MSLSS)
Availability
Please visit this website for more information about the instrument:
 Multi dimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale.
Classification

Exploratory: Cerebral Palsy

Short Description of Instrument

The Multidimensional Students Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS) (a) provides a profile of children's satisfaction with important, specific domains (e.g., school, family, friends) in their lives; (b) assesses their general overall life satisfaction; (c) demonstrates acceptable psychometric properties (e.g., acceptable subscale reliability); (d) reveals a replicable factor structure indicating the meaningfulness of the five dimensions; and (e) is used effectively with children across a wide range of age (grades 3–12) and ability levels (e.g., children with mild developmental disabilities through gifted children)."

Scoring

The 40-item MSLSS may be administered to children in groups as well as individually. The four response options are assigned points as follows: (never = 1); (sometimes = 2); (often = 3); and (almost always = 4). Negatively-keyed items must be reverse scored (see pp. 3-4 for the list of negatively-keyed items). Hence, negatively-keyed items are scored so that almost always = 1, and so forth. Higher scores thus indicate higher levels of life satisfaction throughout the scale.

Rationale/Justification
Not specific to children with CP, not validated with population. Reliabilities range from .70–.90 (Greenspoon & Saklofske, 1997; Huebner, 1994; Huebner et al., 1997). Test-retest reliability has all been reported to range from .70–.90 (Huebner et al., 1997). Only assessed in adolescents with CP, acquired brain injury, and ASD.
References
Key References:
Huebner ES. Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (MSSLS) 1991 [cited 2016 30 June]. Available from: http://www.psych.sc.edu/faculty/Scott_Huebner.
Huebner ES. Initial development of the Students' Life Satisfaction Scale. School Psychol Intern. 1991;12(3):231-243.
Heubner ES. Preliminary development and validation of a multidimensional life satisfaction scale for children. Psych Assess. 1994;6:149-158.
Huebner, E. S. (1997). Life satisfaction and happiness. In G. Bear, K. Minke, & A. Thomas (Eds.), Children's Needs - II (pp. 271-278). Silver Spring, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.
Huebner ES, Laughlin JE, Ash C, Gilman R. Further validation of the multidimensional students' life satisfaction scale. Psychoeduc Assess. 1998;16:118-134.
Huebner ES, Suldo S, Valois RF, Drane JW, Zullig K. Brief multidimensional students' life satisfaction scale: sex, race, and grade effects for a high school sample. Psychol Rep. 2004;94(1):351-356.
Huebner ES, Seligson JL, Valois RF, Suldo SM. A review of the Brief Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale. Soc Indic Res. 2006;79(3):447-484.
Additonal References:
Compas B. (1993). Promoting positive mental health in adolescence. In Millstein SG, Peterson AC, Nightingale, EO. (Eds.). Promoting the health of adolescents (pp. 159-179). New York: Oxford University Press.
Gilman R, Huebner ES, Laughlin JE. A first study of the multidimensional students' life satisfaction scale with adolescents. Soc Indic Res. 2000;52:135-160.
Greenspoon PJ & Saklofske DH. Validity and reliability of the Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale with Canadian children. J Psychoeduc Assess. 1997;15:138-155.
Seligson JL, Huebner ES, Valois RF. Preliminary validation of the brief multidimensional students' life satisfaction scale (BMSLSS) Soc Indic Res. 2003;61:121-145.
Zullig KJ, Huebner ES, Patton JM, Murray KA. The brief multidimensional students' life satisfaction scale-college version. Am J Health Behav. 2009;33(5):483-493.
Zullig KJ, Huebner ES, Gilman R, Patton JM, Murray KA. Validation of the brief multidimensional students' life satisfaction scale among college students. Am J Health Behav. 2005;29(3):206-214.

 

Document last updated April 2020