The development of single-item measures of Flourishing: the Brief Scales of Flourishing (BS-F)

The Brief Scales of Flourishing (BS-F) comprise single items to assess flourishing and languishing on a continuum and derives classification of these states. The convergent and criterion validity of the BS-F was compared against established flourishing measures using samples from the United States (n = 303) and United Kingdom (n = 301). There was strong concordance between the BS-F flourishing and languishing status in comparison with status derived from the Mental Health Continuum Short Form; 77.5% and 85.3% of participants were, respectively, correctly classified as flourishing and languishing. Continuum measures reported large correlations with existing flourishing scales. The criterion validity of the BS-F was supported with comparable performance in predicting key outcomes (e.g. mental health, work–life balance, alexithymia). The BS-F items reliably capture individual differences and accurately classify individuals. The BS-F offers a practical alternative to longer measures in time-constrained settings including longitudinal studies and population monitoring where brief assessment is essential.