Instrument Authors N Age of Population for Intended Use Concept of Happiness Number of  Items Scaling methods Scoring interpretation
Pemberton Hapiness Index Hervás and Vásquez[25] 4.407 16-60 Meausre of integrative well-being that includes remembered and experienced well-being 23 items Scale from 0 (total disagreement) to 10 (total agreement) PHI index is the sum of positive experiences and the sum of the absence of negative experiences (each item counted as “1”). The total sum is then divided by 12.
Happiness-Enhancing Activities and Positive Practices (HAPPI) Henricksen and Stephens [12] 2.313 Older subjects 55-73 Measure the importance and engagement of various happiness-enhancing activities 22 items Five point scale from “not important at all” to “extremely important”. Higher scores represent the higher importance and engagement ratings for the corresponding activity.
The Oxford Happiness Inventory
(Italian version)
Meleddu, Guicciardi, Scalas and Fadda[29] 782  Adolescents
14-19 years
Measures positive psychological functioning: SWB and PWB: an eudaimonic model of well-being; a five-factor model 29 items Four incremental levels of happiness: from 0 (I do not feel happy) to 3 (I am incredibly happy) The higher the scores,
the greater the
happiness.
Happiness Subscale
of the short version of the Adolescent General Well-Being
(AGWB) scale
Mahon and Yarcheski[43] 127
early adolescents
12-14
years
Assesses adolescents´ personal experience of happiness 9 items 5- point Likert scale Higher scores reflecti perceived happiness.
The Oxford Happiness Inventory
(has been used in the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, United States, Australia, and  Canada)
Hills and Argyle [21] 257 subjects 18-82 years Three components: (1) the frequency and intensity of positive affect; (2) the average level of satisfaction; (3) the absence of negative feelings 29 items Four incretal levels of happiness: from 0 (I do not feel happy) to 3 (I am incredibly happy) Higher scores reflect greater happiness.
The Oxford Happiness Inventory
Hebrew translation for Israel
Francis and
Katz [44]
  Adults Happiness made up of four components: the frequency and intensity of positive affect, the average level of satisfaction,  the absence of negative feelings, and the feeling of self-fulfillment   Four incremental levels of happiness, from 0 (I do not feel happy), to 3 (I am incredibly happy) Higher scores reflect
greater
happiness.
The Subjective Happiness Scale Lyubomirsky and Lepper[26]   14-94 years
(14 samples collected at different times and locations)
A global subjective assessment
of whether one is happy or unhappy
4 items Six-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (not a very happy person) to 7 (a very happy person) Higher scores reflect greater happiness.
Chinese
Happiness
Questionnaire  (CHI)
Lu and Shih [45]   Undergraduate
students (mean age:
20.44 to 21.49 years)
Measures subjective  experiences pertaining to a variety of life domains 48 items Each item has four
statements and each
statement represents
a different level of
subjective experience
of happiness which is
then coded as 0, 1, 2, 3.
Higher scores, reflect greater
happiness..
The Depression–
Happiness Scale
McGreal and Joseph [46]   Undergraduate
students
17–35 years
This scale represents depression
and happiness as opposite ends of a single continuum
25 items Four-point scale
ranging from 0 (never)
to 3 (often)
The higher the scores, the greater the feelings
of happiness and the lower the scores, the greater the feelings of
depression.
The Happiness
Subscale of the
short version of
the Adolescent
General Wellbeing (AGWB)
Columbo   Adolescents 14-18   9 items Four-point Likert scale. Higher scores reflect
higher perceived
happiness.
The Memorial
University of
Newfoundland
Scale of Happiness (MUNSH)
Kosma and Stones
[42]
  Younger and older
adults
Measures both short and long-term
aspects of well-being.
24 items Yes/no The scale is scored by subtracting the negative items from positive items.
The Mood Survey Underwood and Froming[47]   Undergraduate students Measures three dimensions of mood:
the average level, the intensity, and the frequency  of mood experiences
18 items Six-point Likert scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree Higher scores reflect greater happiness.
Marital
Happiness
Scale
Azrin, Naster&Jones, [48]   Used primarily
for couples aged
23–56 years
Measure of reported marital happiness in each of  10 areas of marital interaction 10 items
represent
10 categories
Each of the 10 categories was scored on a point continuum of self-reported happiness that ranged from 1 completely unhappy”
to 10 “completely happy”.
Higher scores reflect greater happiness.
The Bradburn Affect Balance
Scale (ABS)
Bradburn
and Caplovitz[49]
  The young and the
middle-aged. It was not standardized on older subjects, but has been validated on
them several times
Happiness is the difference between positive and negative affective states
and measure psychological well-being
10 items Yes/no The scale is scored by subtracting the negative items from the positive items, plus a constant 5 to avoid negative values.
Table 1: List of selected available instruments for happiness measurements.