4 items · Time frame: These days / in general, Past year / a year ago, Future
Life satisfaction now and one year ago, and hope for the future, each on a 0–10 scale. About 60 seconds. The first item is the OECD core life-satisfaction item; ask it only once if the survey also uses the core questions. If space is short, keep the one-year-ago item over the hope item.
Source
OECD (2025), Box 2.3 (life evaluation extended module), pp. 34–35. The hope item was introduced by the UK Office for National Statistics in 2023.
Usage
Report each item separately: the mean, the distribution, and the share scoring 4 or less ("low life satisfaction" now and a year ago; "little hope"). The questions ask for a reflective judgement, not the current mood.
Citation
OECD (2025). OECD Guidelines on Measuring Subjective Well-being (2025 Update). OECD Publishing, Paris.
doi:10.1787/9203632a-enLicense: Item wording from OECD (2025), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). Attribution: OECD (2025), OECD Guidelines on Measuring Subjective Well-being (2025 Update), OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9203632a-en. Do not use the OECD logo or suggest that the OECD endorses a study. Hope item: Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (ONS).
The following two questions ask how satisfied you feel, on a scale from 0 to 10. Zero means you feel "not at all satisfied" and 10 means you feel "completely satisfied".
Overall, how satisfied are you with life as a whole these days?
Overall, how satisfied with your life were you one year ago?
Overall, how hopeful do you feel about your future, where 0 is "not at all hopeful", and 10 is "completely hopeful"?
Use this module in your own ESM/EMA study — drop it into a survey within SMAAT.