Lepper, H. S. (1998). Use of other-reports to validate subjective well-being measures. Social Indicators Research, 44(3), 367-379.
Level of agreement between self-reports and other-reports obtained from a large two-wave study of older adults was examined. Various measures of subjective well-being (affect, happiness, and life satisfaction) and behavioral manifestations (smoking and sleep quality) were assessed. Results indicate that the SWB measures were highly stable over a 9-month period, and that good agreement between the self- and other-reports was found for the SWB measures. ...