Life Satisfaction Test — Free 8-Question Check Across Life Areas (SLS-8)

A free life satisfaction test covering eight areas at once: work or study, relationships, health, finances, leisure, growth, self-acceptance and life direction. Eight questions about the past month take about a minute and give a 0-32 total plus a view of which areas are pulling satisfaction down.

What's included

Questions: 8 items
Price: Free
Areas measured: 삶의 만족도 총점

When this check is useful

It suits moments when life looks fine on the surface yet feels hollow, when you want to pin down why hard work is not adding up to satisfaction, or when a decision such as a job change, a move or a shift in a relationship makes you want to sort out which parts of life feel full and which feel empty. The heart of this check is the profile across eight areas rather than the total, which helps turn vague dissatisfaction into specific items.

The eight items cover achievement at work or study, close relationships, physical health and energy, financial situation, leisure and recharging, learning and growth, self-acceptance and life direction, answered with the past month in mind. The items were written by Soundary with reference to life satisfaction research; standard tools on the same topic exist, such as Diener's Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), but the items and score bands here differ from them, and the check is for reference ahead of clinical validation.

What to do with your result

Out of 0-32, the neutral point is 16. A score of 26-32 reflects high satisfaction across life; knowing which areas hold it up gives you somewhere to return to when things shake. A score of 17-25 is a moderate level, mostly fine but likely with one or two low areas, so pick one small change in one of them. A score of 11-16 is somewhat low satisfaction; if several areas are low, start with the easiest to touch rather than changing everything at once.

A score of 0-10 means satisfaction is hard to find across many areas. If broadly low satisfaction comes with low mood or loss of drive, check for symptoms with the Mood Weather depression check (SMW-16) or the PHQ-4 ultra-brief screen, and talk to a professional if it lasts more than two weeks. Satisfaction does not change much over short periods, so a retest interval of one to three months is about right, and logging it alongside the four-question ONS4 personal well-being measure shows how your evaluation of life differs from your day-to-day feelings.

How scores are interpreted

삶의 만족도 총점

8문항(각 0~4점)의 합산 점수로 0~32점 범위이며, 점수가 높을수록 자신의 삶에 대한 전반적 만족이 높음을 뜻합니다. 구분 기준은 문항당 중립점(2점, 총 16점)을 기준으로 한 이론적 잠정 기준으로, 임상 타당화 전 참고용입니다.

0–10pts · 낮은 삶의 만족
삶 전반에 대한 만족이 뚜렷이 낮게 보고되었습니다. 낮은 삶의 만족이 지속되면 우울감이나 소진과 함께 나타날 가능성이 있으므로, 기분 자가검사(예: 우울 척도)를 함께 확인해 보시고, 힘든 상태가 이어진다면 정신건강 전문가 상담을 권장합니다.
11–16pts · 다소 낮은 삶의 만족
삶에 대한 평가가 중립 이하로, 아쉬움이나 불만족을 느끼는 영역이 있을 수 있습니다. 불만족이 큰 영역(일·관계·건강·경제 등)을 구체적으로 확인하고 작은 변화부터 시도해 보세요. 저조한 기분이 2주 이상 지속된다면 전문가 상담을 고려해 보시길 권합니다.
17–25pts · 보통 수준의 삶의 만족
전반적으로 자신의 삶을 무난하게 긍정적으로 평가하고 있는 경향입니다. 만족스러운 영역은 유지하면서 더 키우고 싶은 영역을 하나 정해 보고, 정기적인 재검사로 시간에 따른 변화를 추적해 보세요.
26–32pts · 높은 삶의 만족
자신의 삶에 대한 전반적 만족이 높은 수준으로 보고되었습니다. 현재의 생활 리듬, 소중한 관계, 의미 있는 활동을 계속 유지하시고, 주기적인 재검사로 만족도의 흐름을 확인해 보세요.

Sample questions

1. 요즘 나의 하루하루가 대체로 마음에 든다.
2. 내 삶은 내가 원하는 방향으로 흘러가고 있다고 느낀다.
3. 현재 나의 생활 여건(일·학업, 관계, 건강, 경제 등)에 대체로 만족한다.
4. 지금까지 걸어온 내 삶의 발자취를 긍정적으로 평가한다.

지난 1개월 동안의 자신의 삶을 떠올리며, 각 문장에 얼마나 동의하는지 가장 가까운 답을 골라 주세요. 정답은 없으니 오래 고민하지 말고 솔직하게 응답해 주세요.

FAQ

How do I read my life satisfaction score?

Each of the eight items scores 0-4, for a total of 0-32, with 16 as the neutral point. Read 0-10 as low satisfaction, 11-16 as somewhat low, 17-25 as moderate and 26-32 as high. What matters more than the total, though, is which of the eight areas are low, and these bands are Soundary's own reference thresholds.

Does low life satisfaction mean depression?

No. Life satisfaction is about how you evaluate your life, whereas depression is about symptoms such as mood, drive and sleep, so they are different things. Satisfaction can be low without any symptoms, and conversely depression often pulls satisfaction down with it. If low satisfaction comes with low mood lasting more than two weeks, take a depression check and consider talking to a professional.

Is this the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS)?

No. This is Soundary's own eight-item self-check (SLS-8). Diener's SWLS is a five-item global evaluation of life, whereas this check asks separately about eight areas: work, relationships, health, finances, leisure, growth, self-acceptance and direction. Because the items and score bands differ, it cannot be compared with SWLS scores, and it is for reference ahead of clinical validation.

How often should I take it, and how can I use the result?

Satisfaction does not shift much over short periods, so one to three months between checks is about right. Pick the single lowest area in your result, decide on one small action to try there this month, and see whether that item moves at the next check. Taking it once before and once after a big change such as a job move, relocation or relationship shift lets you look back on how the decision affected your life.

Source

The items in this test are a self-check adaptation based on the original instrument and literature below: Items written by Soundary with reference to published literature on life satisfaction; not a translation or adaptation of any standardized instrument, and for reference ahead of clinical validation. A representative standard tool on the same topic is the Satisfaction With Life Scale (Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The Satisfaction With Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71–75), but the item count, items and score bands of this check differ from it.

This is a self-screening tool, not a medical diagnosis. If the result concerns you, please consult a mental health professional.