Life Engagement and Purpose
Title
Life Engagement Test (LET)
Study
PMBC
Copyright Information
Available in the public domain. A copy of the LET is accessible from Dr. Scheier’s
Primary Reference
Scheier, M. F., Wrosch, C., Baum, A., Cohen, S., Martire, L. M., Matthews, K. A., et al. (2006). . Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 29(3), 291-298.
Purpose
To assess the extent to which individuals perceive their activities as being valuable and important.
Type of Measure
Established.
Similar Measures
Ryff Scales of Psychological Well-Being, Purpose in Life Scale
Description
Respondents use a 5-point Likert scale to rate how much they agree with self-descriptive statements about the purposefulness of life.
Scaling
1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Neutral, 4 = Agree, 5 = Strongly Agree
Number of Items
6
Psychometrics
Scheier et al (2006) report psychometric data derived from several samples, including undergraduate students and adults with and without chronic illness:
- Internal consistency, Cronbach’s α: range, 0.72 to 0.87
- Test-retest reliability (4 months): range, 0.61 to 0.76
Internal consistency in PMBC (n = 193), Cronbach’s α = 0.79
Scoring
Reverse items: 1, 3, 5
Sum items 1R, 2, 3R, 4, 5R, 6
Variables
Total Life Engagement Score