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Character strengths and well-being in Croatia: An empirical investigation of structure and correlates
Abstract
We investigated relations among strengths of character in 881 students from Croatian universities. We also examined links between strengths and various well-being indices. Our conceptualization was based on the Values in Action classification system with 24 strengths organized within six superordinate virtues (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). A factor analysis led to a four-factor solution; factors were defined as Interpersonal Strengths, Fortitude, Vitality, and Cautiousness. Of these factors, Vitality (with zest, hope, curiosity, and humor as indicators) emerged as the most relevant to well-being. When examining individual strengths, zest, curiosity, gratitude, and optimism/hope emerged with the strongest associations with elevated life satisfaction, subjective vitality, satisfaction of autonomy, relatedness, and competence needs, and a pleasurable, engaging, and meaningful existence. Results have implications for understanding the structure and variability of benefits linked with particular strengths.
... Con respecto a la satisfacción vital, se han presentado asociaciones con las fortalezas del carácter (Bayat Rizi et al., 2020;Bechler, 2020;Buschor et al., 2013;Goodman, Disabato, Kashdan, et al., 2018;Hanks et al., 2014;Kaufman, 2015;Korotkov & Godbout, 2014;Lounsbury et al., 2009;Park & Peterson, 2008a;Park et al., 2004;Porto Noronha & Martins, 2016;Proyer et al., 2011;Proyer, Gander, et al., 2013;Weber et al., 2013). Por su parte, la vitalidad, curiosidad, gratitud y esperanza presentaron las mayores asociaciones con satisfacción vital (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010). A su vez, la esperanza, vitalidad, gratitud y amor se asociaron a satisfacción vital pasada, presente y futura (Proyer et al., 2011). ...
... Hasta la actualidad, varios estudios analizaron la estructura de las fortalezas del carácter del modelo de Peterson y Seligman (2004) Por otro lado, se encontraron estructuras tetrafactoriales en: Australia (Haridas et al., 2017;Macdonald et al., 2008), Corea del Sur (Lim, 2015), Croacia (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010), y dos dimensiones en Argentina . Por su parte, Bacon (2005) planteó que las fortalezas pueden agruparse en: fortalezas focalizadas, donde se incluye la creatividad, persistencia, curiosidad, entre otras; y fortalezas de balance, que incluye a la imparcialidad, bondad, etc. ...
... A su vez, estructuras de cinco factores fueron halladas en Argentina , Australia , Estados Unidos (McGrath, 2014b;Peterson et al., 2008), España Merino et al., 2020), Israel (Littman-Ovadia & Lavy, 2012a;Weber et al., 2013), India (Choubisa & Singh, 2011;Singh & Choubisa, 2010) y en población germano parlante (Güsewell & Ruch, 2012;Höfer et al., 2019;Martínez-Martí & Ruch, 2017;Ruch et al., 2010). Por otro lado, se encontraron estructuras tetrafactoriales en: Australia (Haridas et al., 2017;Macdonald et al., 2008), Corea del Sur (Lim, 2015), Croacia (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010), Emiratos Árabes Unidos , España , Estados Unidos (Park & Peterson, 2006b;Shryack et al., 2010), India , Italia (Casali et al., 2020), Israel Shoshani, 2019;, Pakistán (Anjum & Amjad, 2020), Polonia (Najderska & Cieciuch, 2018), Portugal , . Por su parte, Bacon (2005) planteó que las fortalezas del carácter pueden agruparse en: fortalezas focalizadas, donde se incluye la creatividad, persistencia, curiosidad, entre otras; y fortalezas de balance, que incluye a la imparcialidad, bondad, etc. Finalmente, estructuras de un factor se reportaron en Australia , Brasil Seibel et al., 2015) e India Choubisa & Singh, 2011). ...
Good character is a principal area in Positive Psychology. The current thesis assesses character strengths with mixed method: quantitative though factor analysis and qualitative using content analysis. Main purpose is evaluate and analyze the character strengths factors in participants from Ecuador, Peru and Paraguay to identify whether international findings are replicated; and verify replication in each country independently. A non probabilistic intentional sample was used: 854 university students (273 Ecuadorians, 277 Peruvians and 304 Paraguayan). Participants completed Inventario de Virtudes y Fortalezas del Carácter IVyF (Cosentino & Castro Solano, 2012) and Protocolo de Cualidades Positivas (Castro Solano & Cosentino, 2013). Main results show three character strengths factors: moderation, progress and fraternity. Secondly, this three factor model is the most parsimonious and replicable despite some differences. Finally, dimensional structure has intercultural differences because each countries have specific relations. Main conclusion show three factors of character strengths and intercultural differences in dimensional structure of each country. Data has limitations: used sample could not be an average citizen of each culture and countries were considered as national culture. Future studies should research intracultural differences in character strengths, identify causes of intercultural differences in each population and analyze character strengths in others Latin-American countries.
... Whereas Peterson and Seligman's (2004) original classification of character strengths to virtues is based on theoretical considerations, subsequent studies on individual differences in character have used techniques such as principal component analysis (PCA) or exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to investigate the empirical (factor-analytical) structure of the VIA character trait space and to identify higher-level dimensions (i.e., factors or principal components) on which to aggregate the 24 character strengths (e.g., Anjum & Amjad, 2019;Brdar & Kashdan, 2010;Macdonald et al., 2008;McGrath, 2015;Peterson et al., 2008;Ruch et al., 2010;Shryack et al., 2010;Singh & Choubisa, 2010). However, these studies have not led to a consensus regarding the most useful global level(s) of abstraction on which to aggregate the 24 VIA character strengths. ...
... Most of these studies employed exploratory factor-analytical techniques (e.g., PCA or EFA) to identify a single most useful or plausible global level in the solutions-hierarchy on which to aggregate the variance contained in the 24 character strengths. The number of factors or components that were retained varied widely across these studies: one (Noronha et al., 2015;Seibel et al., 2015;Singh & Choubisa, 2009), three (Castro Solano & Cosentino, 2018;Duan et al., 2012;McGrath, 2015;McGrath & Wallace, 2019;Redfern et al., 2014;Shryack et al., 2010), four (Anjum & Amjad, 2019;Brdar & Kashdan, 2010;Macdonald et al., 2008;Najderska & Cieciuch, 2018;Petkari & Ortiz-Tallo, 2018;Xie, 2015), or five (Azañedo et al., 2014;H€ ofer et al., 2019;Littman-Ovadia, 2015;Littman-Ovadia & Lavy, 2012;McGrath, 2014McGrath, , 2015Peterson et al., 2008;Peterson & Seligman, 2004;Ruch et al., 2010;Singh & Choubisa, 2010). 6 According to Ng et al. (2017), five-dimensional solutions appear to be most common, whereas other authors have highlighted a three-dimensional solution comprising the dimensions caring (interpersonal strengths), inquisitiveness (intellectual strengths), and self-control (intrapersonal strengths) as most reproducible across different VIA instruments, samples, and analytical strategies (McGrath, 2015;McGrath et al., 2018;McGrath & Wallace, 2019). ...
... Second, sample composition and quality varied widely across previous studies. Most studies were based either on student samples (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010;Duan et al., 2012;Macdonald et al., 2008;Noronha et al., 2015;Petkari & Ortiz-Tallo, 2018;Singh & Choubisa, 2009Xie, 2015) or on convenience samples that were biased toward a specific demographic group (e.g., the highly educated or females; e.g., Azañedo et al., 2014;Castro Solano & Cosentino, 2018;Littman-Ovadia, 2015;McGrath, 2014McGrath, , 2015McGrath & Wallace, 2019;Ng et al., 2017;Peterson et al., 2008;Redfern et al., 2014;Seibel et al., 2015;Shryack et al., 2010). Such selective samples are likely to suffer from restriction of range and reduced variance, which may limit the number of relevant dimensions that can be identified. ...
The Values in Action (VIA) framework maps 24 character strengths onto six more abstract virtues through a theoretical classification. However, compared to other individual difference constructs, there is little consensus about the factor-analytic structure of the VIA trait space. Applying Horn’s parallel analysis, Goldberg’s Bass-ackwards approach, and cross-country congruency analysis, we scrutinize the factor-analytic solutions-hierarchy of the 24 VIA strengths with the aim to identify one or more useful global levels of abstraction (akin to the Big Five, HEXACO/Big Six, or personality metatraits). We assessed the 24 character strengths with the psychometrically refined IPIP-VIA-R inventory in two large and heterogeneous samples from Germany and the UK (total N ≈ 2,000). Results suggested that three global dimensions suffice to capture the essence of character strengths: Level III recovered more than 50% of the total variation of the 24 character strengths in well-interpretable, global/general, cross-culturally replicable dimensions. We provisionally labeled them positivity, dependability, and mastery. Their superordinate Level-II-dimensions were reminiscent of the “Big Two” personality metatraits Dynamism and Social Self-Regulation. Our results advance the understanding of the VIA character trait space and may serve as a basis for developing scales to assess these global dimensions.
... Theoretically, the positive activity model (Lyubomirsky & Layou, 2013) advocates that character strengths, such as expressing gratitude or practicing kindness, can improve individuals' BPNS and further contributes to their well-being. For example, interpersonal strengths involve "tending and befriending" others, which can help individuals build relationships with others and thus satisfy their need for relatedness (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010). Empirically, several studies have indicated that the use of character strengths can positively predict individuals' BPNS, and this positive relation was found on nurses (Bai et al., 2021), students (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010), and teachers (Jin et al., 2021). ...
... For example, interpersonal strengths involve "tending and befriending" others, which can help individuals build relationships with others and thus satisfy their need for relatedness (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010). Empirically, several studies have indicated that the use of character strengths can positively predict individuals' BPNS, and this positive relation was found on nurses (Bai et al., 2021), students (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010), and teachers (Jin et al., 2021). Hence, we made the following hypotheses: ...
Problematic mobile phone use can have negative impacts on adolescents’ growth and health. Prior research has shown that character strengths contribute positively to adolescent development. However, little research has been done to investigate the relationship between adolescents’ character strengths and problematic mobile phone use. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between character strengths and problematic mobile phone use, as well as the mediating roles of basic psychological needs satisfaction and resilience in this relationship. This cross-sectional study was conducted in October 2022, including 693 Chinese adolescent participants. Character strengths, basic psychological needs satisfaction, resilience, and problematic mobile phone use were measured using established scales. The results indicated that character strengths were negatively related to problematic mobile phone use, and positively related to basic psychological needs satisfaction and resilience. Furthermore, basic psychological needs satisfaction and resilience fully and respectively mediated the association between character strengths and problematic mobile phone use. Additionally, character strengths influenced adolescents’ problematic mobile phone use through the serial mediating effect of basic psychological needs satisfaction and resilience. Moreover, the results also showed that sex moderated the character strengths-basic psychological needs satisfaction relationship, the basic psychological needs satisfaction-resilience relationship, and the basic psychological needs satisfaction-problematic mobile phone use relationship. The current findings provide important insights into how to prevent problematic mobile phone use among adolescents.
... Before the pandemic, there is evidence supporting how gratitude relates to sense of relatedness among a sample in an online platform in Australia (Naqshbandi et al., 2020), undergraduate students in Singapore (Lee et al., 2015), early adolescents in China (Tian et al., 2016), undergraduate students in Croatia (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010), and college students in the United States (Kashdan et al., 2009). Apart from the direct link of gratitude to relatedness, research suggests that the basic needs for relatedness can predict subsequent gratitude (Lee et al., 2015). ...
... Self-determination theory proposes that fulfilment of basic psychological needs for relatedness, autonomy, and competence can foster achievement and well-being outcomes (Ryan & Deci, 2000. Before the pandemic outbreak, there is evidence suggesting that students with fulfilled needs for relatedness tend to achieve higher levels of well-being in China (Tian et al., 2016), Croatia (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010), and Norway (Leversen et al., 2012). Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is evidence highlighting the mental health benefits of fulfilling relatedness needs in various contexts (Behzadnia & FatahModares, 2020;Cantanero et al., 2020). ...
Objectives:
Although gratitude relates to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) well-being outcomes in the United States, more evidence is needed to understand how this psychological strength reciprocally relates to mental health during this pandemic. This study examines the association of gratitude with stress, anxiety, and depression among undergraduate students in the United States via a longitudinal design.
Methods:
An online survey was administered to 643 undergraduate students in a public university located in the southeastern region of the United States. There was a 1-month interval between the first and second waves of data collection.
Results:
Cross-lagged panel structural equation modeling showed that whereas gratitude positively predicted subsequent relatedness needs satisfaction, it negatively predicted later stress, anxiety, and depression. Relatedness needs satisfaction was reciprocally linked to subsequent gratitude.
Conclusion:
Results suggest that gratitude might serve as a protective psychological resource against the detrimental mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
... Several studies have reported on the factor structure of the VIA-IS (see Brdar & Kashdan, 2010;Littman-Ovadia & Lavy, 2012;Macdonald, Bore, & Munro, 2008;McGrath, in press;Peterson, Park, Pole, D'Andrea, & Seligman, 2008;Ruch et al., 2010;Shryack, Steger, Krueger, & Kallie, 2010;Singh & Choubisa, 2010). Most of these findings have revealed that four-or five-dimensional models best fit the data. ...
... It implies that the generalizability of the originally propounded classification system is of particular importance. Previous research has demonstrated the cross-cultural generalizability of the VIA-IS to non-US populations; specifically, several studies have examined its psychometric properties, its factorial structure, and the prevalence and demographic correlates of the character strengths measured in Japan (Shimai et al., 2006), United Kingdom (Linley et al., 2007), Switzerland Ruch et al., 2010), Australia (Macdonald et al., 2008), India (Singh & Choubisa, 2010), Croatia (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010), and Israel (Littman-Ovadia & Lavy, 2012). ...
... We posit that provision of security resources which take into account employees' positive traits, such as self-efficacy, optimism and resilience, can have a significant impact on users' security compliance. Positive traits are natural and authentic qualities of a person and are sources of intrinsic motivation to use and energize (Brdar and Kashdan 2010) The originality of the research stems from examining the potential effect of positive factors including both personal traits and enabling security resources on the energetic level of security behavior. We put forward that organizational security policies which are built based on these two determinants might increase employees' security compliance. ...
... Positive traits refer to positive characters of a person in life, such as compassion and self-control. Positive traits are natural and authentic qualities of a person and are sources of intrinsic motivation to use and energize (Brdar and Kashdan, 2010). Positive Psychology also emphasizes the importance of establishing an enabling institution that nurtures positive emotions and characters in people (Krentzman, 2012). ...
Abstract: The article "Sharing of teaching staff information via QR-code usage" presented at the conference, which has the common name "Information Systems Management and Evaluation ». One of the most famous information systems in user practice is an information system - "Human Resources Information System" (HRIS), which is essentially a database of the HR organization, which in itself does not provide any management decisions and need a special person who to this database is constantly filled and made changes. In this article, based on the analysis of empirical data is offered a specific solution for database management of HRIS remotely by members of the company. The process of personnel management becomes more effective and operational with the help of one of the technologies IoT- QR code. University Information about the instructors are constantly changing and the human resources department is necessary each time to make changes to the database. There are cases when you need urgent information on the teacher, and it is impossible to obtain an instant on a number of subjective reasons. QR code technology offers amazing features such as: 1. Easy access 2. Deeper relationship with customers 3. Bridge online and offline media 4. Real-time information 5. Invoke user's curiosity These technologies can provide information about the teachers for students, undergraduates, doctoral students, researchers and administration. Files using this technology consist of not only text but also videos in 3D animation. This article describes a practical example of the use of IoT technologies - QR code to improve the efficiency of the automated human resource management system (for example, Almaty Management University).The purpose of this work: to show the ways to improve the information system "Human Resources Information System” (HRIS) through the use of user-friendly, intuitive and fast QR code technology.
The object of study: the work of the personnel department, IC ‘Human Resources Information System’ (HRIS) 6. Research model: observation, cross sectional model 7. Variables: behavioral variables 8. Methodology: analysis of the usage and importance of QR code for users. 9. The results of studies: the formation of stable opinion of the importance of the QR code. 10. Criteria for evaluation of thinking: creativity, innovation and technological advancement 11. Findings: not fully disclosed the potential of QR code technology has a significant impact on society. Practical implications: all the legal information about the instructors optically encoded from paper, which definitely contributes to the idea of open systems. It provides simplicity and high reading speed and user interaction with the information.
Keywords: QR code, human resource information system, new content, IoT and IoE, physical web, file formats 1
... Based on the other factor determination criteria, and low cross-loadings, the four-factor solution was found to be more interpretable than the six-factor solution. This finding is consistent with previous studies that examined the factor structure of VIA-IS which suggested a four-factor solution (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010;Macdonald et al., 2008;Ruch et al., 2010;Shryack et al., 2010). However, the character strengths associated with the corresponding four virtues in this study are not similar to character strengths associated with four virtues in the previous studies. ...
... Furthermore, the differences in the loading of character strengths onto different factors may be attributed to the study sample, the study context, and the measurement tool. The previous studies were conducted in various countries to examine the factor structure of the VIA-IS in the general population (Ng et al., 2017;Shryack et al., 2010), including college students (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010;Macdon-ald et al., 2008). Nevertheless, this is likely the first study to examine the factor structure of VIA-72 using a sample of individuals with MS. ...
Background: Research on character strengths in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) is
lacking. Moreover, measures of character strengths have not been validated in this population, limiting the opportunities for further investigation.
Objective: To investigate the factor structure of the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths
(VIA)-72 in a sample of individuals with MS.
Methods: This quantitative descriptive study included 624 individuals with MS. The factor
structure of the VIA-72 was examined using principal component analysis. The internal
consistency reliability and validity were assessed by computing Cronbach’s alphas and correlations of the VIA-72 with other psychosocial constructs, respectively.
Findings: The principal component analysis revealed an interpretable four-factor structure of the VIA-72: intellectual and emotional strengths, temperance, transcendence, and interpersonal strengths. The factors significantly correlated with measures of quality of life, resilience, social support, depression, fatigue, and personality traits, indicating good concurrent validity. The four factors did not completely align with Peterson and Seligman's (2004) classification system.
Conclusions: The four-factor structure of the VIA-72 seems to be interpretable, valid, and
reliable. Measures like VIA-72 may help rehabilitation professionals learn more about the nature and development of character strengths among persons with MS and suggest ways to cultivate it.
Further studies are indicated to confirm the factor structures and psychometric properties of this scale in persons with MS.
Keywords: character strengths; multiple sclerosis; quality of life; rehabilitation
... Although the 24 character strengths were originally mapped to six virtues, studies on their factorial structure generally aggregated them into three, four, or five factors depending on the data at hand (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010;Casali et al., 2021;McGrath, 2015), with only a few studies adopting a confirmatory approach and even fewer confirming a structure based on the six original virtues McGrath, 2014;Ng et al., 2017). For this reason, studies involving the VIA-IS often start with a new exploratory analysis to reduce the 24 strengths into a smaller number of factors. ...
Character strengths have been found to consistently predict many positive psychological outcomes, such as well-being, life satisfaction, and mental health, but research on the topic is still at its infancy and some methodological limitations must be overcome to better understand what character strengths are and what is their role. One main issue concerns the structure of character strengths and virtues, which may undermine the credibility and replicability of previous findings. Using two different samples (with 13,439 and 944 participants), we confirm that character strengths can be well described by a bifactor model reflecting the simultaneous existence of a general factor of ‘good character’ and the 24 specific character strengths. We found that the general factor consistently predicts participants’ life satisfaction, mental health, and distress symptoms. In addition, we show that the specific character strengths (with the few exceptions represented by gratitude, hope, and zest) do not predict life satisfaction and mental health above and beyond the general factor. These results highlight the need to better understand what this general factor really represents to finally capture the mechanisms linking character strengths between each other and with external outcomes. Implications for the measurement and interpretation of character strengths and for strength-based interventions are discussed.
... The original version of the scale consists of 240 items, but two shorter versions, the VIA-120 and the VIA-72, with the best items from each of the character strength domains that maintained adequate validity have also been created (Littman-Ovadia, 2015 Ongoing research, however, continues to look at the best way to understand character strengths and virtues. For example, several researchers have found that the character strengths tend to be highly related (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010;Haslam, Bain, & Neal, 2004;Littman-Ovadia & Lavy, 2012;Macdonald, Bore, & Munro, 2008;Peterson, Park, Pole, D'Andrea, & Seligman, 2008;Ruch et al., 2010;Shryack, Steger, Krueger, & Kallie, 2010;Singh & Choubisa, 2010), suggesting there may be different ways to understand and define the virtues and the character strengths that align with them. For example, researchers have suggested that rather than the original six virtues of wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence, there might be alternative virtue groups, such as interpersonal or sociability strengths, or intellectual or cognitive strengths Shryack et al., 2010). ...
... Character strength possessed by individuals can be formed and enhanced through external intervention or self-willed (Hudson & Fraley, 2015). More fully, several studies address internal factors that can affect a person's character strength, for example, age, gender, class, and profession (Guo et al., 2015;Zubair et al., 2018), big five personality (Dametto & Noronha, 2020;Merino et al., 2020;Noronha & Zanon, 2018), mindfulness (Güldal & Satan, 2020), psychological well-being (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010;Gustems & Calderón, 2014), flourishing and self-compassion (Jafari, 2020), religious faith and commitment (Wnuk, 2021), emotional intelligence and positive affect (Ros-Morente et al., 2017), and life satisfaction (Romero et al., 2018). ...
This study aims to determine the effect of strength-based parenting and religious commitment on students' character strengths mediated by positive affect. This study uses quantitative methods. The sampling technique was a non-probability and purposive sampling technique. The subjects of this study were 484 students of Senior High School X. The scale used is VIA-72, SBP scale, MUDRAS, and NAPAS. Data were analyzed by path analysis technique using Lisrel 8.80. Based on the results of the analysis showed that the model "the influence of strength-based parenting and religious commitment on the strength of students' character is mediated by positive affect" fits the data. Positive affect acts as a mediator for the dimensions of strength-based parenting use, engaging in bodily worship of Allah, and recommended acts except for strength-based parenting knowledge and sinful acts. Parents can start bonding-based parenting by keeping a diary of the strengths their children use on a daily basis, mapping out the strengths of each family member, and asking questions about the strengths their children have.
... Irwin, 1999), this research has focused on relationships between character and well-being. Indeed, much research indicates that character predicts many forms of well-being, including life satisfaction (e.g., Park et al., 2004), psychological well-being (e.g., Ng et al., 2018), basic psychological needs (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010), and other forms of well-being (e.g., Niemiec, 2013). In addition to predicting well-being, character has been shown to predict health status variables such as the number of healthy days experienced in the last month (Ng et al., 2018). ...
We examined the incremental validity of character in predicting health outcomes and well-being beyond personality traits and investigated the extent to which health-related behaviors mediate the relationship between character and well-being. Findings indicate that several character cores (e.g., transcendence, fortitude) predict well-being, health behaviors, and health outcomes beyond different measures of personality traits, indicating that character is discriminable from personality as indicated by incremental prediction. In particular, fortitude, temperance, transcendence, and sincerity appear to be key players. Implications for character research are discussed.
... Research on character strengths focuses on character strengths in the general population (e.g.; McGrath, 2015b;, children and adolescents (e.g., Park, 2004;, specific populations, such as pre-service or inservice teachers (e.g., Gradišek, 2012;Gustems & Calderon 2014;Haslip & Donaldson, 2021), the assessment of character strengths (e.g., Ruch et al., 2020), the empirical hierarchical structure of the VIA Classification (e.g., Brdar & Kashdan, 2010;McGrath, 2015a;Shryack et al., 2010), character strengths at work (e.g., Harzer & Ruch, 2012;Littman-Ovadia & Lavy, 2016;, and character strengths interventions (e.g., Niemiec, 2018;Proyer et al., 2015;Ruch et al., 2020). ...
Character strengths, defined as positive personality traits that are morally valued, are an important research topic in the field of positive psychology. In this study, 130 first-year student teachers participated in an online workshop, designed by the author, on identifying and promoting character strengths. Prior to the workshop, the students completed the VIA-IS survey on character strengths. After the workshop, they answered two open-ended questions for reflecting on the process of identification and promotion of their character strengths in relation to their personal and professional development. The students had the highest scores on the character strengths of Fairness, Kindness, Teamwork, Leadership, and Gratitude, and the lowest on Bravery, Self-regulation and Love of learning. The results of the qualitative analysis showed that the participants would most use Kindness, Fairness, Love, Teamwork and Humour in their future work, while they wished to further develop their Creativity, Perseverance, Courage and Selfregulation. The role of identification and promotion of student teachers’ character strengths in their professional development and the professional identity formation is then discussed.
... It was anticipated by the Peterson and Seligman [1] study that their classification of the character strengths and virtues identified would be modified in the light of future further studies and this is indeed the case, with subsequent empirical research finding that character strengths may be better categorized into models with between five [24,25], four [26], and three [27] factors. Duan et al. [12] extended these studies in Mainland China by examining the factor structure and functional equivalence of a Simplified Chinese version of the VIA-IS (the six-virtue factor model by Peterson and Seligman [1]). ...
Character strengths and training have a great impact on students’ whole-person development. This study examined the applicability of the Chinese virtues questionnaire (CVQ) and the relationships between students’ perceptions of virtues and resilience in Hong Kong, SAR, China. A total of 2468 pupils from primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong were recruited as the sample for this study. The results of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported a measurement model of Chinese virtues, and the results of structural equation modeling (SEM) suggested that Chinese virtues were positively related to positive resilience and succumbing. Significant relationships were found between gender and students’ positive resilience, and school grade level showed a significant impact on the Chinese virtues, which in turn affect resilience. Student resilience could be enhanced by nurturing virtues and related character strengths, keeping in mind the role of gender and grade level.
... Instead of focusing on assessment and intervention on pathology, the focus in positive psychology is helping the individual maximize their unique positive character traits (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000;Sheldon & Ryan, 2011). Character strengths are "pre-existing qualities that arise naturally, feel authentic, are intrinsically motivating to use and energizing" (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010). When maximized, students' positive traits (e.g., optimism, gratitude, perseverance, kindness, honesty) can help buffer against the risks inherent to their psychological or environmental challenges (Terjesen, Jacofsky, Froh, & DiGiusseppe, 2004). ...
Recently, a new program – The Positivity Project (P2; https://posproject.org/) – has been developed to address key implementation challenges for teachers. P2 is a professional development program focused on teacher’s use of project-based learning and a universal student character education curriculum that provides educators and students with tools to support socio-emotional skills through daily, 15-minute learning modules across the school year. In this article, we (a) explain the theory informing P2, (b) detail key implementation components, (c) include real-life accounts from students and teachers using P2 across K-12 and alternative settings, and (d) provide suggestions for evaluating the impact of P2 for those schools considering implementation. The P2 program is informed by positive psychology, a strengths-based approach to instruction that is well-suited to support students with disabilities. Currently, there is promising evidence of P2 effectiveness that could be classified as practice-based evidence (see https://posproject.org/). Schools wishing to explore use of P2 may wish to consider the best ways to measure the effectiveness of the program. One option is the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths for Youth, which was developed to assess the 24 character strengths from positive psychology and has been translated into multiple languages.
... Most criticisms concern the measurement of character strengths and their factorial structure (see Feraco et al., 2021 for a brief review), the uncertainty of which undermines the theoretical assumptions at the core of the character strengths classification. Despite theoretically corresponding to six virtues, the 24 character strengths have been found to generally aggregate into three, four, or five factors depending on the study at hand (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010;Casali, Feraco, Ghisi, et al., 2021;McGrath, 2015), with only a few studies adopting a confirmatory approach and even fewer confirming the original theoretical structure (Feraco et al., 2021;McGrath, 2014;Ng et al., 2017). For this reason, studies involving the VIA-IS often start with a new exploratory analysis to reduce the 24 strengths into a smaller number of factors representing the six (or three, or four, or five) virtues. ...
Character strengths have been found to consistently predict many positive psychological outcomes, such as well-being, life satisfaction, and mental health, but research on the topic is still at its infancy and some methodological limitations must be overcome to better understand what character strengths are and what is their role. Two main issues concern the structure of character strengths and the widespread use of sum scores, which may undermine the credibility and replicability of previous findings. Using two different samples (with 14364 and 944 participants), we confirm that character strengths can be well described by a bifactor model reflecting the simultaneous existence of a general factor of ‘good character’ and the 24 specific character strengths. In addition, we newly show that the specific character strengths (with a few exceptions) have no predictive power when a general factor is included in the analysis. In fact, only the general factor consistently related to participants’ life satisfaction, mental health, and distress symptoms. These results highlight the need to better understand what this general factor really represents to finally capture the mechanisms linking character strengths between each other and with external outcomes. Implications for the measurement and interpretation of character strengths and for strength-based interventions are discussed.
... To explore these interactions, we identified the character strengths that connected the two communities (bridge strengths). The heart strengths of love, zest, hope, and gratitude played an intermediary role between the rest of the character strengths and mental health, which is in line with previous research Brdar & Kashdan, 2010;Martínez-Martí & Ruch, 2014;Miljković & Rijavec, 2008). The most central variables of the network were zest, social intelligence, gratitude, and judgment, while depression emerged as the least central variable. ...
The network approach poses an alternative focus to understand psychological constructs as emerging from mutual interac- tions among indicators. Network psychometrics has been applied to psychopathology to unravel the connections between symptoms, but it can also be applied to the study of well-being. The role of character strengths in mental health is at the forefront of research attention. Previous findings suggest that heart character strengths are more predictive of mental health than mind character strengths. Nevertheless, researchers have rarely applied the network approach in this context. The present study examines, from the network approach, the connections between heart and mind character strengths and mental health. Building upon the dual-factor model of mental health, positive (i.e., happiness and life satisfaction) and negative indicators (i.e., depression) were included in the assessment of this construct. A sample of 597 Spanish undergraduates (M=23.52; SD=5.25; 75.6% females) completed cross-sectional self-report measures. Network analysis was used to estimate a network composed of two communities: character strengths and mental health. We used centrality analysis to calculate the importance of each node and bridge centrality to examine the interactions between the communi- ties. The results indicated that the heart strengths of love, zest, hope, and gratitude reported the highest bridge strength centrality, suggesting that they played an intermediary role activating and deactivating components of mental health. Adopting the network approach to explore the connections between character strengths and mental health can help design focused intervention strategies in psychology.
... Although the VIA-IS reflected the hierarchical organization of virtues and strengths initially suggested by Peterson and Seligman (2004), factor analyses of the scale have generally not confirmed the proposed structure of six virtues (see exceptions in Feraco et al., 2022;Ng et al, 2017). For instance, studies from different countries have found five-factor solutions (Azañedo et al., 2014;Martínez-Martí & Ruch, 2017;McGrath, 2014), four-factor solutions (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010;Casali et al., 2020), or three-factor solutions (e.g., Shryack et al., 2010). This variety of results may be due to different latent structures across cultures (Duan & Bu, 2017;Khumalo et al., 2008). ...
Traditional factor analyses used to analyze the structure of psychological strengths have yielded different solutions, not always confirming the original structure of 24 strengths corresponding to six virtues as proposed by Peterson and Seligman in their initial model. In contrast with previous factorial approaches, this study used network analysis to explore the map of strengths, assessed with the VIA Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS), in a large sample of individuals (N = 1,255,248) from the general population in the United States, Australia, Canada, and UK. The network analysis revealed four different communities (i.e., groups of strengths): Discernment, Interpersonal, Responsibility, and Energy. The strength most connected to other strengths was Gratitude, whereas Love of Learning was the least connected node. These results open a new way to conceptualize psychological strengths as a complex network of mutually interconnected strengths. These findings complement results from factor analyses that future research should replicate and validate.
... "Appendix A" lists the page numbers for each section of text included in our analysis. While Table 2 organizes the virtues and strengths according to the structure proposed by Peterson and Seligman (2004), this structure has been called into question by empirical work supporting 3-5 factor solutions (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010;Macdonald et al., 2008;McGrath, 2015;Ng et al., 2018). Within each excerpt, we coded sentences that defined the relevant trait, excluding text that provided theoretical, etymological, or historic background to the traits. ...
The theoretical relationship between personality and character, as two approaches to conceptualizing individual differences, remains poorly defined. Attempts to clarify the relationship by analyzing leading personality and character frameworks—NEO-PI-3 and Peterson and Seligman’s Character Strengths and Virtues (CSV)—have yielded divergent, unclear results. In this paper, we use a qualitative thematic analysis method to systematically compare NEO-PI-3 and CSV trait descriptions. Our analysis found 35 overlapping facet-strength trait pairs, including 22 morally-toned facet-strength relationships. For the CSV, the overlap was spread out among the strengths, while the overlap for NEO-PI-3 was mostly located in the factors of Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. We also found traits that were uniquely evaluated or emphasized by each framework. NEO-PI-3 tended to emphasize traits related to emotions, tasks, and socializing; the CSV tended to emphasize self-management, prosocial, and worldview traits. Our analysis indicates that the two frameworks share substantial description of traits—including moral traits—but are not redundant. Our conceptual results were largely supported by empirical studies. Future research should continue to synthesize conceptual and empirical scholarship to advance understanding of the relationship between these two frameworks for evaluating individual differences.
... Based on our characterization of flourishing which includes both hedonic and eudemonic wellbeing (Huppert and So, 2013), extant research broadly reports significant relationships between character strengths and the former (Brdar and Kashdan, 2010;Buschor et al., 2013;Hausler et al., 2017;Athota et al., 2020;Baumann et al., 2020;Villacís et al., 2021). Additionally, specific research which addresses wellbeing as flourishing confirms the positive relationship between both variables (Baumann et al., 2020;Niemiec, 2020). ...
The aim of this research was to delimit the predictive and mediational model of resilience between character strengths to predict flourishing, in a sample of undergraduate students. After signing their informed consent, 642 university students completed three validated scales (i.e., character strengths, resilience, and flourishing). Using an ex post facto design, regression, structural modeling, and mediation analyses were carried out, in order to construct a multi-causal predictive model. Results indicated a consistent predictive direct effect of character strengths on resilience and flourishing and of resilience on flourishing. As hypothesized, resilience also showed a mediating effect on the relationship between character strengths and flourishing. Additionally, results also revealed that the reactive and proactive factors of resilience were explained by different character strengths (e.g., emotional strength/cognitive, interpersonal strengths), reinforcing the idea that the two directions are complementary and necessary. Finally, several implications were established for the practice of positive psychology.
... Performance evaluation indicated that the more parsimonious models identified by BMA outperformed the full models estimated by frequentist regression in terms of AIC, BIC, and CVRMSEs. When correlation analysis was conducted, in line with previous studies (e.g., Brdar & Kashdan, 2010), the 24 character strengths were significantly and positively correlated with each other. However, not all moral functioning indicators were significantly correlated with character strengths. ...
We explored the relationship between 24 character strengths measured by the Global Assessment of Character Strengths (GACS), which was revised from the original VIA instrument, and moral functioning comprising postconventional moral reasoning, empathic traits and moral identity. Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) was employed to explore the best models, which were more parsimonious than full regression models estimated through frequentist regression, predicting moral functioning indicators with the 24 candidate character strength predictors. Our exploration was conducted with a dataset collected from 666 college students at a public university in the Southern United States. Results showed that character strengths as measured by GACS partially predicted relevant moral functioning indicators. Performance evaluation results demonstrated that the best models identified by BMA performed significantly better than the full models estimated by frequentist regression in terms of AIC, BIC, and cross-validation accuracy. We discuss theoretical and methodological implications of the findings for future studies addressing character strengths and moral functioning.
... Performance evaluation indicated that the more parsimonious models identified by BMA outperformed the full models estimated by frequentist regression in terms of AIC, BIC, and CVRMSEs. When correlation analysis was conducted, in line with previous studies (e.g., Brdar & Kashdan, 2010), the 24 character strengths were significantly and positively correlated with each other. However, not all moral functioning indicators were significantly correlated with character strengths. ...
We explored the relationship between 24 character strengths measured by the Global Assessment of Character Strengths (GACS), which was revised from the original VIA instrument, and moral functioning comprising postconventional moral reasoning, empathic traits and moral identity. Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) was employed to explore the best models, which were more parsimonious than full regression models estimated through frequentist regression, predicting moral functioning indicators with the 24 candidate character strength predictors. Our exploration was conducted with a dataset collected from 666 college students at a public university in the Southern United States. Results showed that character strengths as measured by GACS partially predicted relevant moral functioning indicators. Performance evaluation results demonstrated that the best models identified by BMA performed significantly better than the full models estimated by frequentist regression in terms of AIC, BIC, and cross-validation accuracy. We discuss theoretical and methodological implications of the findings for future studies addressing character strengths and moral functioning.
... However, a Growing literature shows that the structure of character strengths does not fit the six-factor theoretical framework. Research has reported various numbers of factors based on analyses of the VIA-IS measure, for example, five-factor model (McGrath, 2014;Ruch et al., 2010;Singh & Choubisa, 2010), fourfactor model (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010), three-factor model (McGrath, 2015a;Khumalo et al., 2008), or two-factor model , although all of these sample cohorts are adults. It is particularly interesting to note that Macdonald, Bore, and Munro (2008) identified both a one-factor and four-factor model based on the 24 character strengths. ...
The main purpose of the current study was to investigate the structure or dimensionality of the official Chinese Code for Primary and Secondary-School Students as well as the “moral-character salience level” that the 35 Code items assess. Although the Code can be perceived as a major aspirational behavior document for students to follow, no previous evidence has analyzed the structure of the Code instrument and what level of moral character the Code items are likely to assess. Such a lack of psychometric analysis hinders the effective discussion and communication of the Code in the moral-education literature, nationally and internationally. Based on factor and bifactor models, our findings demonstrated that the 35 Code items do have a unidimensional structure, dominated with a general factor, and reveal the salience level of the items, which could offer practical implications for a potential revision of the Code. We also relate our discussion to the structural analysis of the positive psychological VIA-instruments, in order to advance cross-cultural dialogue on measures of Chinese and Western moral education.
... Character strengths are seen to be the psychological ingredients defining the virtues [35]. The validity of the VIA model has been confirmed in numerous investigations [18,36,37], across 75 nations [38], including the validation work in a cross-cultural sample of 447,573 participants [17]. ...
In recent years, various intervention programs have been developed to enhance the quality of life of young athletes. This is particularly important for those who live in residences of professional clubs, far from their families. In this regard, we designed a positive psychology intervention program called “DÉPORVIDA”, aimed at enhancing character strengths. To assess the efficacy of this 8-week intervention, we tested 28 young soccer players from a Spanish professional club. The intervention program used a strength-based approach from the values in action (VIA) model, and was conducted by club employees with formal academic education. Data were analysed using a set of 2 × 2 (intervention × time) mixed design ANOVAs. Results revealed different trends for the intervention and the control groups participants for seasonal performance satisfaction and percentage of time feeling happy/unhappy, highlighting consistent changes in the desired direction. Overall, the results indicate that the DÉPORVIDA program is a useful tool to promote positive development in young athletes.
... Since Peterson and Seligman (2004) formulated their conceptual model of character strengths and virtues, and its associated instruments (i.e., the VIA-IS and its shortened versions such as the VIA-72), a number of studies have examined the latent structure of the character strengths using scale-level exploratory methods (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010;Duan et al., 2012;Littman-Ovadia & Lavy, 2012;McGrath, 2014;Shryack et al., 2010). Most of these studies -which aim to identify which subsets of strengths co-occur -failed to replicate the original six-virtue model. 1 Specifically, these studies identified a range of factor solutions, reflecting between three (Shryack et al., 2010) and five virtues (McGrath, 2014), and while many of the factors had a conceptual overlap across studies, there was also substantial variability in content. ...
Evidence supports three principal virtues of Self-Control, Caring, and Inquisitiveness that represent socially-construed notions of desirable behaviors. In Study 1 (n = 509 adults), we demonstrate that the three-virtue structure identified in the VIA-IS also emerges in the VIA-72. In Study 2 (n = 659 adults) we examine the relationship between virtues and personality using correlations and person-centered analyses. Cloninger’s character dimensions, which capture the sociocognitive component of personality – Self-Directedness, Cooperativeness, Self-Transcendence – showed moderate overlap with the three virtues, but remained distinct in its silent and subjective transpersonal aspects that were excluded from VIA. People with positive development of all three character traits were the most virtuous. The specific virtues of a person depended on integrated profiles of both temperament and character. We conclude that virtues are expressed when habits are persistently regulated by all three character traits to the extent that they express self-transcendent goals and values.
... Therefore, researches on character strengths have also accelerated. Character strengths are defined as qualities that emerge spontaneously, make the individual feel unique, energise and motivate internally (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010). In their comprehensive research, Peterson and Seligman (2004) defined 24 character strengths (VIA Classification of Character Strengths and Virtues). ...
Developing character strengths in early childhood has attracted increased attention all around the world in recent years. Nevertheless, very few studies have examined teachers' awareness and practices concerning character strengths. The present study aimed to discover early childhood teachers' awareness of children's character strengths and classroom practices to reveal and develop these strengths based on the 24 character strengths included in the VIA Classification of Character Strengths and Virtues. Interviews were held with 25 early childhood teachers selected via criterion sampling method and the interviews were coded using content analysis. The main findings of the study show that the strengths teachers consider important in children are similar to those they frequently observe in children (i.e., curiosity, love, love of learning and creativity). Most teachers highlight the development of creativity in children, believing that adopting different perspectives, problem-solving and achievement would be improved through creativity. In addition, teachers suggested that self-regulation should be supported during the preschool period. Teachers' practices to develop character strengths in children were not found purposeful but limited to the national curriculum. Thus, the study discusses possible ways to raise teachers' awareness of character strengths and enhance their practices during early childhood. The theoretical and practical contributions of the study are also discussed.
... Para estos autores las virtudes y fortalezas del carácter son los ingredientes psicológicos para llevar una vida con bienestar. Vale destacar que la literatura científica ha podido presentar evidencias sobre el rol de las virtudes y algunas fortalezas del carácter como rasgos asociados o predictores del bienestar, ajuste social y escolar en la adolescencia, a saber: Brdar & Kashdan (2010); Giménez (2010);Sol (2012;; Park, Tsukayama, Goodwin, Patrick & Duckworth (2017);Quinlan, Vella-Brodrick, Gray, & Swain (2018); Shankland & Rosset (2016); Wagner (2019); Weber, Wagner, & Ruch (2016). ...
El objetivo de esta investigación es analizar el bienestar psicológico y la virtud del coraje en la adolescencia tardía, sus posibles relaciones y su diferenciación por sexo. Metodológicamente obedece a un diseño no experimental, transeccional correlacional, con una muestra de 345 adolescentes. Para la recolección de datos se emplearon escalas psicológicas para medir las variables de bienestar psicológico y virtud del coraje, los mismos fueron analizados a través de
estadística inferencial no paramétrica. Los resultados son: a) niveles medios de bienestar y virtud del coraje en adolescentes, b) no existen diferencias estadísticamente significativas en bienestar y la virtud del coraje de acuerdo al sexo, y c) correlaciones positivas estadísticamente significativas entre la virtud del coraje y el bienestar psicológico con cada una de sus dimensiones. Los resultados son discutidos desde la perspectiva de la psicología evolutiva de la adolescencia y la psicología positiva.
... The scholars explain that such opportunities are intrinsically motivating and satisfy an employee's need for autonomy, which contributes to increased thriving (Mahomed & Rothmann, 2019). Having opportunity to grow at work also advances the use of personal strengths because employees will have more challenges that they can pursue and gain more confidence in their abilities (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010;Ruysseveldt et al., 2011). This increased confidence will allow the employee to spend more effort applying their strengths and persevere, even in the face of obstacles (Bandura, 1977). ...
According to the socially embedded model of thriving at work, employees thrive (i.e., experience a sense of vitality and learning), when they can engage in agentic work behaviours. In this study, we first examine whether strengths use can be seen as an agentic work behaviour that contributes to thriving. Second, we investigate whether the degree to which colleagues recognize each other’s strengths boosts the positive relationship between strengths use and thriving. Third, we propose that perceived organizational support for strengths use and opportunities for professional development are organizational factors that contribute to thriving because they enable employee strengths use, and that this indirect relationship is also reinforced by intercollegial strengths recognition. An analysis of 445 Dutch employee and 159 close co-worker reports show that strengths use and thriving are indeed positively connected. Our findings reveal that intercollegial strengths recognition is a positive moderator of the relationship between strengths use and vitality. We identify two organizational factors that contribute to thriving through employee strengths use and find that the nature of the indirect pathway to vitality also depends on colleague recognition. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
... In the phase of reporting the analysis process and the result, the values obtained from the analysis matrices were digitized in frequencies and presented in tables. Since character strengths are interrelated (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010), some learning outcomes were associated with more than one category (viz. character strength) at the same time. ...
It was aimed to examine the learning outcomes in the Life Science Course Curriculum (LSCC) in terms of character strengths in the present study. This research was carried out with the analytical research model. In the research framework, deductive content analysis was used. According to the results, prudence, self-regulation, citizenship, kindness, and social intelligence were the top five character strengths in LSCC. The strengths of bravery, persistence, leadership, forgiveness, modesty, hope, and humor were not found in LSCC. The most prominent virtue in LSCC was temperance. It is noteworthy that courage was the least emphasized virtue in LSCC. As the grade increased, the virtue of wisdom was more emphasized within LSCC learning outcomes. Considering the units, self-regulation, social intelligence, citizenship, kindness, prudence, and open-mindedness were the most emphasized character strengths in the unit of Life in Our School. Self-regulation, prudence, social intelligence, open-mindedness, love, and appreciation were the most common ones in the unit of Life in Our Home. Prudence and self-regulation came to the fore in the units of Healthy Life and the Safe Life. Citizenship in the unit of Life in Our Country and curiosity, love of learning, and love in the unit of Life in Nature became distinctive.
... Each study yielded a different model of the latent structure of the 24 strengths, with differences in the number of factors extracted, in the content of those factors (in terms of the strengths composing them), and even in the labels used to name the factors. Scholars found evidence to support grouping the 24 strengths into three (e.g., Duan et al., 2012;McGrath, 2015;Seibel et al., 2015;Shryack et al., 2010), five (e.g., Azañedo et al., 2017;Peterson & Park, 2004;Ruch et al., 2010;Singh & Choubisa, 2010) or, less frequently, four (Anjum & Amjad, 2020;Brdar & Kashdan, 2010;Macdonald et al., 2008) or two factors (Khumalo et al., 2008). As summarized graphically in Table S1 in the Supplemental materials, an intellectual secondorder factor usually comprising strengths such as creativity, curiosity or love of learning emerged in several studies. ...
The Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS) is a widely-used measure for character. Its factorial structure is still debated, however, and previous validation studies usually failed to examine the unidimensionality of the single character strengths. In addition, no studies to date have examined its Italian version. We validated the structure of the Italian short form of the VIA-IS in a sample of 16722 participants. Using confirmatory factor analysis and treating items as ordinal variables, we followed three simple, but too often neglected, steps: we studied the unidimensionality of the single strengths first, then their convergence into second-order virtues, and then fitted a hierarchical model that includes items, strengths and virtues, as originally proposed by Peterson and Seligman. All strengths except "love of learning" were unidimensional, and both the virtues and the final hierarchical models showed acceptable fit indices, unlike three models derived from an exploratory factor analysis. The same findings emerged for a smaller sample of 1035 participants. Finally, both character strengths and virtues showed positive relations with general mental health and negative relations with psychological distress. These results are discussed considering previous studies on the factorial structure of the VIA-IS.
... Asimismo, se han encontrado estrechas relaciones entre las diferentes Fortalezas del carácter y el bienestar subjetivo (e.g. Bai, 2011;Brdar, &Kashdan, 2010;Gillam, et al, 2011;Leontopoulu, &Triliva, 2012;Liney, Nielsen, Gillett, & Biswas-diener, 2010;Proctor, Maltby, & Linley, 2010;Ruch, et al, 2010;Wood, Linley, Maltby, Kashdan, Hurling, 2011), la satisfacción vital (Hool, 2011;Weber & Ruch, 2012) y la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud (Proctor et al., 2010). Una gran cantidad de estudios indican relaciones positivas entre todas las Fortalezas variables del bienestar tales como satisfacción con la vida y felicidad y relaciones negativas con problemas mentales tales como depresión (Chan, 2009;Dahlsgaard, Peterson & Seligman 2005). ...
... The mean alpha coefficient was 0.77, and the retest reliability equaled 0.73 in a 9-month interval. [28] According to Peterson and Seligman, the reliability of the test was greater than 0.7 in all the subscales and for all the considered strengths and capabilities using the Cronbach's formula. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient on the Iranian sample was 0.80. ...
Background:
Cancer is one of the major health problems across the world that poses a great threat to human health and active life in all age groups, causing numerous personal, familial, and social damages in physical, mental and spiritual dimensions. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of positive psychotherapy on happiness, character strengths, pleasure, commitment, and semantic measures in the lives of people with cancer.
Materials and methods:
Within the framework of a quasi-experimental design, 58 patients suffering from cancer meeting the inclusion criteria (disease history and married) were selected via purposeful sampling method. However, only 30 of the patients met the required criteria to participate in all psychotherapy sessions. The participants were then randomly assigned to two intervention and control groups (15 participants per group). The intervention group received eight 120-min sessions of positive psychotherapy on a weekly basis while the control group was put on the waiting list. Data collection tools included the Oxford Happiness-Depression Questionnaire and Values in Action-Inventory of Strengths. The participants completed the questionnaires before and after the intervention. Data analysis was conducted by analysis of covariance.
Results:
The results of covariance analysis suggested that the use of positive psychotherapy has been effective on increasing happiness (F = 0.129, P = 0.005), increasing character strength (F = 27.55, P = 0.001), increasing the semantic measures (F = 15.23, P = 0.002), increasing pleasure (F = 8.51, P = 0.005), and commitment (F = 64.19, P = 0.001) among patients with cancer.
Conclusions:
The results of the present study indicated that positive psychotherapy has been effective on happiness, strengths, pleasure, commitment, and semantic measures of the life among people with cancer. Positive psychotherapy can be used to minimize the effects of cancer on patients.
... On similar grounds, the Holy Bhagavad Gita has emphasized the importance of work that is reflected in the dimension of steadfastness in adverse situations in which an individual stays loyal and committed to his/her work. Supporting the newly found factor also known as "titiksha" is comprehended as the strength of the mind (Brdar and Kashdan, 2010) that an individual maintains during dukkha and difficult situations (Marballi, 2017;Thanissara, 2014). Thus, being steadfast and adaptable in adverse situations leads to a sense of purpose with a balance of mind in the face of success and failure (Satsangee, 2012). ...
Positive psychology nurtures the potent qualities of individuals and aids them in carving a niche for themselves. Based on this theoretical foundation, a non-cognitive trait-like grit plays an imperative role in attaining high achievement. Previous studies have identified three dimensions of grit: perseverance of effort, consistency of interest and adaptability to situations. Recent research has criticized the dimension consistency of interest in a collectivist context. The present study provides an account of grit in view of eastern perspectives to check the suitability of the construct in India. Current findings provide a framework for the development and validation of Multi-Dimensional Scale of Grit reveals four dimensions of grit, namely, adaptability to situation, perseverance of effort, spirited initiative and steadfastness in adverse situations. It also provides an insight regarding the duration of goal attainment with respect to grit. The research conducted over three studies included Indian university students to develop and examine the psychometric properties of grit. Study 1 focused on item analysis and development of the factor structure through exploratory factor analysis. Study 2 confirmed the previously obtained factor structure through confirmatory factor analysis. In study 3, the psychometric properties of the scale were measured through test-retest reliability and validity, criterion, convergent and divergent. Results indicated that Multi-Dimensional Scale of Grit is a reliable and valid measure. It also indicated that the obtained 12 items and four dimensions were in synchronization with the relevant eastern perspective.
... Therefore, we looked at the interpretation of character strength factors reported in studies on VIA character strengths in adults. Previous factor analytic studies suggested two (using ipsative data: Peterson, 2006;Ruch, Proyer, Harzer, et al., 2010), three (Duan et al., 2012;Khumalo et al., 2008;McGrath, 2015;Shryack et al., 2010), four (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010;Macdonald et al., 2008;Shryack et al., 2010), or five factors (e.g., Littman-Ovadia & Lavy, 2011;McGrath, 2014;Peterson et al., 2008;Ruch et al., 2014;Ruch, Proyer, Harzer, et al., 2010;Singh & Choubisa, 2010). For the current study, we considered functions based on the resulting higher-order factors of these factor analyses. ...
While character strengths are expected to contribute to the ‘good life,’ they also may serve specific purposes (e.g., the strength of curiosity should support the acquisition and use of knowledge). This study explored the potential functions of character strengths from a within-person perspective. We used a literature review and qualitative and quantitative surveys to determine potential functions. This resulted in 17 distinguishable functions (e.g., ‘feeling free and independent’). We used a diary study that included N = 196 participants (84.4% women, mean age: 25.68 years) who reported their daily character strength enactments and their experiences of the functions for 14 consecutive days. Our results suggested that the enactment of character strengths was positively related to several functions. However, the character strengths also showed distinguishable patterns of relationships with the functions, which were largely in line with – but not limited to – the functions suggested in the VIA classification.
The present chapter aims to study the relationship between decision-making and happiness and seeks to answer whether happy people make a better decision or good decisions lead to happiness or happiness itself is a decision. The decision is objective in nature, and for taking a decision, usually decision-making process is used based on the goal. The choice is based on a person’s behaviour leading to mindset because of value, moral, perception, which develop the overall personality of the individual. This chapter discussed different models, topics, and theories like a constructive choice model, choice theory, personality theory, emotional intelligence, happiness, etc., to explain the relationship between happiness, choice, and decision-making. For further exploring the answer to the mentioned queries, three age groups of people were considered for interview purpose, which is—young age, middle age, and senior citizens. It is seen that most people considered happiness as a decisional choice. Therefore, it can be concluded that happiness is based on conscious effort as it is inherited within the activity and channelising consciousness are vital for being happy in life.KeywordsDecision processesRational decisionParadox choiceAffects happiness
This brief report explores the associations of interpersonal strengths with subjective well-being and psychological flourishing among high-ability adolescents ( M = 13.08, SD = 2.17) in Hong Kong during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. It also examines the indirect effects of strengths on well-being outcomes via satisfaction of basic psychological needs at school. Results demonstrated that love and leadership served as the most robust predictors of basic psychological needs satisfaction. Love was consistently associated with higher well-being outcomes. Whereas leadership was linked to higher levels of satisfaction with all dimensions of basic needs, this strength was related to lower levels of emotional well-being. Further, love, social intelligence, leadership, and kindness had indirect effects on life satisfaction, positive emotions, and flourishing via the satisfaction of basic needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence. This research showcases the mental health benefits of selected interpersonal strengths during the pandemic outbreak.
Most states now require some form of character education to be taught to students in the United States. At the same time, school personnel are encouraged to use evidence-based practices to best support their students’ needs. A current character education program based in positive psychology – The Positivity Project (P2) – is experiencing massive uptake in schools across the nation, but to date there is no experimental research available on the program. The current study includes a quasi-experimental design to investigate the relationship between fourth-grade students’ exposure to the P2 curriculum and changes in their teacher-reported emotional and behavioral problems. Results indicated that compared to a control group, students experiencing the P2 program demonstrated significantly greater reductions in their externalizing (g = .6) and internalizing (g = .7) behaviors across the first half of the school year. Future research needs are proposed.
يهدف علم النفس الايجابي إلى تحقيق الازدهار، وهي نتائج أكدتها العديد من الدراسات العالمية. وعليه، تعتبر الدراسة الحالية كامتداد لهذه الدراسات، والتي نهدف من خلالها لمعرفة طبيعة العلاقة بين مكامن القوى الشخصية والتوافق النفسي، وذلك من خلال التعرف على مكامن القوى المميزة لأفراد عينة الدراسة، وتحديد القوى التي تتنبأ بالتوافق النفسي، مع التحقق من وجود فروق بين الجنسين في كل من مكامن القوى والفضائل الانسانية والتوافق النفسي.
ولتحقيق أهداف الدراسة والاجابة عن التساؤلات والتحقق من الفروض، تم اختيار عينة متكونة من 188 فرد من طلبة المدرسة العليا للأستاذة بكل من بوزريعة والقبة منهم 19 ذكر و169 أنثى. تم تطبيق مقياس مكامن القوى والفضائل العاملة ومقياس التوافق النفسي. وبعد التحقق من الخصائص السيكومترية للمقاييس وجمع المعطيات واجراء التحليلات والمعالجات الاحصائية، بينت نتائج الدراسة وجود علاقة ارتباطية طردية بين مكامن القوى الشخصية والتوافق النفسي، حيث تم تحديد بصمة القوى التي تميز طلبة المدرسة العليا للأساتذة والتي تمثلت في قوة الانصاف، قوة الاستقامة، قوة اللطف والكرم، قوة الروحانية والتدين وقوة التواضع، كما توصلت هذه الدراسة إلى أن مكونات مكامن القوى في الشخصية المتمثلة في كل من قوة الحب وقوة البراعة والابداع وقوة الرأي والتقدير قد أسهمت في التنبؤ بالتوافق النفسي، وقد بينت النتائج كذلك أنه لا توجد فروق بين الجنسين في مكامن القوى والفضائل الانسانية والتوافق النفسي، كما أبدا الأفراد المشاركين في هذه الدراسة من طلبة المدرسة العليا للأساتذة قدر فوق المتوسط من السعادة الحقيقية.
وقد بينت نتائج الدراسات السابقة أن نتائج الدراسة الحالية قد ترتبط ايجابا بالسعادة الحقيقية، الرفاه، العاطفة الايجابية، والرضا عن الحياة الجامعية والتفوق في الأداء الدراسي الجامعي، وهو ما يحتاج للدراسة والبحث.
في جانب آخر من هذه الدراسة أظهرت النتائج وجود انخفاض في مؤشرات قوة حب التعلم وقوة البراعة والابداع، كما احتلت فضيلة الانسانية من حيث أهميتها ذيل الترتيب، وهو ما يجعلنا ننوه إلى ضرورة دعم وتنمية هذه القوى والفضائل لتحقيق أعلى مستويات التوافق النفسي، وهو ما قد يساهم في ضمان جودة مخرجات التكوين، ما قد ينعكس ايجابا على مهنة التدريس مستقبلا.
الكلمات المفتاحية: علم النفس الايجابي؛ مكامن القوى في الشخصية والفضائل؛ التوافق النفسي؛ طلبة المدرسة العليا للأساتذة.
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Positive psychology aims to achieve flourishing. It central tenet’s is based on identifying and activating and developing personal strengths, as a multidimensional construct that helps to understand and develop the characteristics of good personality, which contributes towards the positive development of individuals which may achieve happiness and well-being, These results have been confirmed by many international studies. Accordingly, this current study is considered as an extension of these studies, through which we aimed to identifying the nature of the relationship between character strengths and psychological adjustment, by identifying the strengths which characterize the sample members of the study, and identifying the strengths that predict psychological adjustment, and verify Gender differences in both strengths, human virtues and psychological adjustment.
In order to achieve the objectives of the study, to answer the questions and verify the hypotheses, a sample consisting of 188 students was selected from the teacher training school at Bouzerah and Al-Qobba, 19 of whom were male and 169 female. The measure of Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS) and the psychological adjustment standard have been applied. After verifying the psychometric characteristics of the scales, collecting data and conducting statistical analyzes and treatments, the results of the study showed the existence of a positive correlation between the strengths character and psychological adjustment, and Signature strengths that characterize students of the teacher training school was determined, which were the strength of fairness, the strength of authenticity, the strength of kindness and generosity. The strength of spirituality, religiosity, the strength of humility and modesty. This study also found that the components of strengths character of personality, represented by the strength of love, the strength of ingenuity and creativity, the strength of opinion and perspective, contributed to the prediction of psychological adjustment, individuals who participate in this study also showed an above average measure of authentic happiness.
The results of previous studies indicated that the results of the current study may be positively related authentic happiness, well-being, positive emotion, and satisfaction with university life and excellence in university academic performance, which needs study and research.
In another side of this study, the results showed a decrease in the indicators of the strength of the love of learning and the strength of ingenuity and creativity, and the virtue of humanity in terms of its importance ranked the bottom of the order, which makes us note the need to support and develop these strength and virtues to achieve the highest levels of psychological adjustment , which may contribute In ensuring the quality of training outcomes, what may be reflected positively on the teaching profession in the future.
Key words: Positive psychology; character strengths and virtues; psychological adjustment; students of the teacher training school.
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La psychologie positive vise l’épanouissement de l’individu, son principe fondamental consiste à l’identification, l’activation et le développement des forces de caractère représentant des constructions psychologiques multidimensionnelles. Cette discipline aide à comprendre et à développer les caractéristiques de la bonne personnalité, ce qui contribue à l’optimisation du développement positif des individus et leur apporte du bonheur et du bien-être. De nombreuses études internationales ont confirmé ces résultats. Par conséquent, le présent travail est considéré comme une extension de ces études, Nous cherchons en l’occurrence à identifier la nature de la relation entre les forces de caractère et l’ajustement psychologique en déterminant les forces qui caractérisent les membres de l’échantillon d’étude et celles qui prédisent l’ajustement psychologique tout en vérifiant les différences entre les deux sexes aussi bien au niveau des forces de caractère, des vertus humaines et de l’ajustement psychologique.
Afin que nous puissions vérifier nos hypothèses, répondre à nos questionnements et atteindre enfin les objectifs de notre étude, nous avons sélectionné, parmi les étudiants de l'École Normale Supérieure (E.N.S) de Bouzareah et celui de Kouba chargées de la formation des enseignants, un échantillon composé de 188 éléments dont 19 hommes et 169 femmes. Nous avons appliqué sur notre échantillon la mesure des valeurs en action et de l’inventaire des Forces (VIA-IS) et la mesure d’ajustement psychologique. Après la vérification des caractéristiques psychométriques des mesures, la collecte des données et la réalisation des analyses et des traitements statistiques, les résultats de l’étude ont montré l’existence d’une corrélation positive entre les forces de caractère et l’ajustement psychologique, nous avons également trouvé que les forces de caractère distinctives qui caractérisent les étudiants des deux écoles étaient la force de l’équité, la force de l’honnêteté, la force de la gentillesse et de la générosité, la force de la spiritualité et de la religiosité et la force de la modestie. Notre étude a également révélé que les composantes des forces de caractère, qui sont la force de l’amour, la force de l’ingéniosité et de la créativité et la force de l’opinion et de l’estimation, ont contribué à la prédiction de l’ajustement psychologique. Les personnes ayant participé à cette étude ont également montré une mesure supérieure à la moyenne en matière de bonheur authentique.
Les résultats des études précédentes avaient indiqué que ceux de la présente pouvaient être liés positivement au bonheur authentique, au bien-être, aux émotions positives et à la satisfaction à l’égard de la vie universitaire et de l’excellence en performance universitaire, ce qui nécessite des études et de la recherche.
Dans un autre volet de cette étude, les résultats ont montré une diminution des indicateurs de la force de l’amour d’apprentissage et de la force de l’ingéniosité et de la créativité, la vertu de l’humanité a occupé quant à elle le bas de l’ordre en termes d’importance, ce constat nous incite à souligner la nécessité de soutenir et de développer ces forces et ces vertus afin d’atteindre les plus hauts niveaux d’ajustement psychologique, ce qui garantit une meilleure qualité des résultats de la formation et aura des répercussions positives sur l’enseignement à l’avenir.
Mots clés: psychologie positive, forces de caractère et vertus, ajustement psychologique, étudiants de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure.
Purpose
This study aims to review the development of strengths assessment in mental health services and evaluate the features of those newly developed strengths assessments.
Method
A systematic literature review approach was adopted to identify relevant articles from September 2010 to August 2021.
Results
The results reveals that 1) the Value in Action Inventory of Strengths is the most widely studied strengths assessment but contains shortcomings in the application of mental health services; 2) 12 strengths assessments have been newly developed, which demonstrated quantitative measure, brief questionnaire, and contextual consideration are the tendency of measure development; 3) domains of strengths assessments were categorized into individual strengths, environmental strengths, and interpersonal strengths, in which individual strengths was the most commonly focus; 4) strengths conceptualization and psychometric properties are two remained limitations of existing strengths assessments.
Discussion
Developing a brief, quantitative, holistic, contextualized, recovery-oriented, psychometrically sound, and strengths-based assessment for people with mental illnesses is promising.
The sudden impact of the government introduced health measures to control the COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping all elements of society, including initial teacher education. International research has examined the effects on teachers, teaching, and students. But, there is a gap considering the impact on preservice teachers. This qualitative study investigates the experiences of 55 South Australian preservice teachers after completing their final practicum during the first six months of 2020. The study adopted Cooperrider and Srivastava’s Appreciative Inquiry 4-D Cycle and reports on stage 1 of the cycle to discover preservice teachers’ views on education Beyond COVID-19. The researcher analysed the data following Braun and Clarke six-phase thematic analysis procedure. Two overarching themes emerged focusing on preservice teachers’ perception of their values and strengths. The implications of the analysis extend earlier research supporting emphasis on teacher resilience and calls for more research on preservice teachers’ experiences.KeywordsCurriculum and pedagogyProfessional development of educatorsTeacher educationTeacher wellbeing
“Sekolah Penggerak” is a policy of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, since 2021. The program is an effort to realize Indonesia's education vision in realizing "A Sovereign, Independent, and Personalized Advanced Indonesia through the Creation of Pelajar Pancasila." Development of student learning outcomes holistically which includes competence (literacy and numeracy) and character, with superior human resources (principals and teachers). The purpose of this study is to reveal the psychological side by discussing the happiness index of principals and teachers in increasing happiness in the technical guidance of “Sekolah Penggerak”. The method used is the mix method. The data begins with quantitative research to see the condition of the happiness index descriptively, then traces a qualitative approach and looks for the root of the problem and the solution chosen. Furthermore, an analysis is carried out to find solution recommendations to solve the problems of happiness experienced by teachers and principals. The results showed that the happiness index in following the technical guidance showed an average of 80 %. The influencing factors are internal and external factors. The internal factors are 1) the interest of the technical guidance participants to the adaptation of the independent curriculum, 2) the teacher's self-concept, 3) self-management. The external factors are 1) the living environment, 2) the ability of the technical guidance facilitator, 2) the support of colleagues at school.
The aim of this study is to examine whether a preference for specific assessment methods in higher education is associated with personality and character strengths. Two-hundred and seventy Portuguese students completed a survey of character strengths, a Big Five personality test and their preference for each of six higher education assessment methods. Participants most favoured continuous assessment and multiple choice over viva voce and dissertations. Regression analysis showed that demographic factors, character strengths and personality accounted for 3–7% of the variance in the preferred examination method. Findings partially replicate previous investigations. Limitations and further research options are suggested.
Sense of relatedness is a key component of students’ social-emotional learning, as it captures the degree to which students’ feel they have quality relationships with others in school. The purpose of the current pilot case study is to measure students’ sense of relatedness and assess the degree to which a new character education social-emotional learning program based in positive psychology – The Positivity Project (P2) – is having a positive impact on students. Results from the two case studies including 108 elementary school students and 154 middle school students indicate positive associations between P2 implementation and increases in self-reported sense of relatedness.
Character strengths are a protective factor against psychological symptoms. However, there is a lack of research that has investigated the psychometric properties of abbreviated character strengths scales. The purpose of this study was to adapt and validate the Character Strengths Semantic Differential Scale (CS-SDS) with a sample of 235 college students. Using the back-translation method, the CS-SDS was translated from English into Turkish and then adapted. Next, exploratory factor analysis was conducted to determine the factorial structure of the Turkish version of CS-SDS (T-CS-SDS). The results indicated that the T-CS-SDS had a four-factor structure, namely, leadership, humanity, wisdom, and vitality. Significant moderate correlations were found for the character strengths factors with perceived stress, depression, and life satisfaction. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the factors were above .70. This is the first study that supported the use of the T-CS-SDS as a positive psychology assessment tool to design and implement innovative interventions to increase the well-being of college students.
This article examines the “predictive model of personal well-being of a teacher in the professional sphere” developed by the authors based on a study conducted on a wide sample of teachers in the Russian Federation (N=7946). The presented model is based on the VIA (Values in Action) model, one of the key measures in the scientific direction of positive psychology. In the course of the study, 14 personal strengths out of 24 in the original model, which have the greatest multiplier effect of usefulness for personal well-being in the professional sphere of education were identified. Personal well-being in the professional sphere is described as a set of personal factors, including, first of all, high self-efficacy of the individual and the absence of professional burnout, and secondly, the individual’s general psychological well-being represented by life satisfaction and self-esteem. The authors believe that the resulting model can become an effective tool for the practical application of the concepts of positive psychology. On the one hand, it can be applied in the field of vocational guidance of young people. On the other hand, the model can be used as a tool for the development of professional competence of teachers in the field of personal well-being in the professional sphere, for example, in the form of selecting the most effective positive psychological interventions (PPI). The authors con clude that in the future, it is possible to scale the presented concept to other professional areas.
Introduction. Positive psychology is one of the most rapidly developing directions of psychological science in the world. Over the past two decades, a large number of empirical researches confirm effectiveness and validity of theoretical studies and practical methods used in the framework of positive psychology. Unfortunately, there is a lack of research in this area in the Russian-speaking scientific community, despite of the presence of high-level scientific teams and individual researchers working in the framework of positive psychology. Probably an important factor in the “low popularity” of positive psychology among Russian authors is the lack of large-scale studies on wide samples of Russian respondents. The purpose of this article is to empirically confirm, the legitimacy of the practical application of the “VIA” model. As well as perform approbation, validation and publication of the Russian-language version of the questionnaire by K. Peterson and M. Seligman “Values in Action Inventory of Strengths” in Russian we suggest more reflecting the essence of the questionnaire name – “24 strengths of the personality”. Materials and Methods. The approbation was carried out on a wide sample of respondents from the professional sphere of education (N = 7 946), using statistical methods for checking the reliability of the questionnaire, including convergent validity and confirmatory factor analysis. Results. The reliability tests showed significant validity results, indicating the reliability of the psychometric tool. The scales of the Russian-language version of the VIA-IS questionnaire show more than sufficient internal consistency, The convergent validity test showed significant correlations with the following scales: Life Satisfaction Scale, Self-Esteem Scale, General Self-Efficiency Scale, and Professional Burnout (Maslach’s). Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the factorial structure of the questionnaire. We manage to meet the desirable “cut-off” model fit parameters of Confirmatory factor analysis. Discussion and Conclusion. Hopefully, publication of this Russian-language questionnaire will lead to an increase interest for research in the field of positive psychology in the Russian scientific community. The conclusions made by the authors contribute to the development of theoretical concepts of positive psychology, confirming the general structural integrity and practical validity of the model “VIA”. Moreover, this article provides for open use in the Russian scientific psychological community a universal psychometric technique in form of questionnaire with empirically proven reliability on a wide sample of respondents.
Este trabajo presenta una revisión sistemática sobre las fortalezas psicológicas propuestas por el modelo Values in Action (VIA) y su relación con el bienestar, la satisfacción vital, la felicidad, la resiliencia y la salud en diferentes poblaciones. Los resultados de la revisión de 47 estudios permiten concluir que las fortalezas psicológicas están relacionadas positivamente con la satisfacción vital, el bienestar, la felicidad, la resiliencia y la salud, y en menor medida con indicadores de afecto negativo. Estos resultados son similares en distintos contextos y en diversos grupos de edad. Se discuten los hallazgos de los diversos estudios y se proponen implicaciones y perspectivas futuras del estudio y del desarrollo de las fortalezas psicológicas en los individuos, en los grupos y en la sociedad en general.
The article presents the results of an empirical study of the relationship between character and socio-psychological adaptation of the individual to university education. Concepts analyzed: character, adaptation, socio-psychological adaptation to learning, adolescence. Diagnostic research methods were used (Oldham-Morris questionnaire to determine personality types and Rogers-Diamond research methods to determine socio-psychological adaptation of personality); methods of mathematical statistics. In the field of psychological and pedagogical research, the problem of adaptation of students is one of the priorities, as it is located at the junction of different fields of knowledge that are crucial in the modern conditions of higher education. The purpose of the study: to identify the relationship between personality types and socio-psychological adaptation in students. The conducted empirical research allows to draw the following conclusions: in general, the subjects had a high level of adaptation, self-acceptance, acceptance of others, emotional comfort, internality, which indicates good social adaptability; the average level of desire for domination, which allows them to have self-esteem, not to be constantly subordinate to others, but also does not lead to authoritarianism, dictatorship. Among the personality types of the most popular is the "Honest" type, also common are "Dramatic" and "Active".
Within this study we used self-report measures completed by 123 undergraduate students from an Australian university to investigate the validity of Peterson and Seligman’s [Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P (2004). Character strengths and virtues. New York: Oxford.] classification system of 24 character strengths and six virtues. We also looked at how the 24 character strengths relate to the Five Factor Model of personality and to a measure of social desirability. Using a second order factor analysis of the 24 character strengths, we found that these 24 character strengths did not produce a factor structure consistent with the six higher order virtues as proposed by Peterson and Seligman [Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P (2004). Character strengths and virtues. New York: Oxford.]. Instead, the 24 character strengths were well represented by both a one and four factor solution. Patterns of significant relationships between each of the 24 character strengths, the one and four factor solutions and the Five Factor Model of personality were found. The results have implications for [Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P (2004). Character strengths and virtues. New York: Oxford.] classification.
In recent years, well-being researchers have distinguished between eudaimonic happiness (e.g., meaning and purpose; taking part in activities that allow for the actualization of one's skills, talents, and potential) and hedonic happiness (e.g., high frequencies of positive affect, low frequencies of negative affect, and evaluating life as satisfying). Unfortunately, this distinction (rooted in philosophy) does not necessarily translate well to science. Among the problems of drawing too sharp a line between ‘types of happiness’ is the fact that eudaimonia is not well-defined and lacks consistent measurement. Moreover, empirical evidence currently suggests that hedonic and eudaimonic well-being overlap conceptually, and may represent psychological mechanisms that operate together. In this article, we outline the problems and costs of distinguishing between two types of happiness, and provide detailed recommendations for a research program on well-being with greater scientific precision.The purpose of life is to be happy. The Dalai LamaYou will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. Albert CamusAnd they all lived happily ever after. The Brothers Grimm
The concept of a construct is central to many of the advances in the behavioral sciences during the second half of this century. Constructs serve to summarize, organize, and facilitate the interpretation of data. The concept of a construct also permits us to move directly from data analysis to theory development and testing. Factor analysis and component analysis are two very similar methods that facilitate the transition from dealing with a large number of observed variables to a smaller number of constructed or latent variables. Douglas Jackson employed factor or component analysis as an integral part of his sequential approach to the development of psychological measures (Jackson, 1970, 1971). It has become a standard part of measure development and is one of the most employed statistical procedures in the behavioral sciences.
Two studies examined individual and environmental forces that affect engagement in prosocial behavior. Self-determination theory was used to derive a model in which autonomy orientation and autonomy support predicted satisfaction of three core psychological needs, which in turn led to engagement in prosocial activities. In Study 1, college students reported their engagement in various prosocial activities, and completed measures of autonomy orientation, parental autonomy support, and general need satisfaction. In Study 2, volunteer workers completed measures of autonomy orientation, work autonomy support and need satisfaction at work. The number of volunteered hours indicated the amount of prosocial engagement. Results across the studies showed that autonomy orientation was strongly related to engagement in prosocial behavior, while autonomy support was modestly related. Need satisfaction partially mediated the effect of autonomy orientation, and fully mediated the effect of autonomy support. Interestingly, autonomy support predicted lower volunteer turnover. Implications for how prosocial behavior can be motivated are discussed.
Why are certain character strengths more associated with life satisfaction than others? A sample of U.S. adults (N = 12,439) completed on-line surveys in English measuring character strengths, orientations to happiness (engagement, pleasure, and meaning), and life satisfaction, and a sample of Swiss adults (N = 445) completed paper-and-pencil versions of the same surveys in German. In both samples, the character strengths most highly linked to life satisfaction included love, hope, curiosity, and zest. Gratitude was among the most robust predictors of life satisfaction in the U.S. sample, whereas perseverance was among the most robust predictors in the Swiss sample. In both samples, the strengths of character most associated with life
satisfaction were associated with orientations to pleasure, to engagement, and to meaning, implying that the most fulfilling character strengths are those that make possible a full life.
We investigated cultural influences on the distribution of character strengths, gender differences in character strengths,
and the relationship of happiness to character strengths. Young adults from the United States (n=1099) and Japan (n=308) completed the English or Japanese versions of the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths. American and Japanese showed
similar distributions of the 24 strengths measured: Higher strengths included love, humor and kindness, and lesser strengths
included prudence, self-regulation, and modesty. Gender differences across cultures were also similar: Females were more likely
than males to report strengths of love and kindness, whereas males were more likely to report bravery and creativity. In both
samples, associations with happiness were found for zest, hope, curiosity and gratitude. The present study is a first step
in an international study of character strengths, and we discuss the ubiquity and variation of character across culture.
Well-being is a complex construct that concerns optimal experience and functioning. Current research on well-being has been derived from two general perspectives: the hedonic approach, which focuses on happiness and defines well-being in terms of pleasure attainment and pain avoidance; and the eudaimonic approach, which focuses on meaning and self-realization and defines well-being in terms of the degree to which a person is fully functioning. These two views have given rise to different research foci and a body of knowledge that is in some areas divergent and in others complementary. New methodological developments concerning multilevel modeling and construct comparisons are also allowing researchers to formulate new questions for the field. This review considers research from both perspectives concerning the nature of well-being, its antecedents, and its stability across time and culture.
This article reports the development and validation of a scale to measure global life satisfaction, the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). Among the various components of subjective well-being, the SWLS is narrowly focused to assess global life satisfaction and does not tap related constructs such as positive affect or loneliness. The SWLS is shown to have favorable psychometric properties, including high internal consistency and high temporal reliability. Scores on the SWLS correlate moderately to highly with other measures of subjective well-being, and correlate predictably with specific personality characteristics. It is noted that the SWLS is Suited for use with different age groups, and other potential uses of the scale are discussed.
Positive psychology is the scientific study of positive experiences and positive individual traits, and the institutions that facilitate their development. A field concerned with well-being and optimal functioning, positive psychology aims to broaden the focus of clinical psychology beyond suffering and its direct alleviation. Our proposed conceptual framework parses happiness into three domains: pleasure, engagement, and meaning. For each of these constructs, there are now valid and practical assessment tools appropriate for the clinical setting. Additionally, mounting evidence demonstrates the efficacy and effectiveness of positive interventions aimed at cultivating pleasure, engagement, and meaning. We contend that positive interventions are justifiable in their own right. Positive interventions may also usefully supplement direct attempts to prevent and treat psychopathology and, indeed, may covertly be a central component of good psychotherapy as it is done now.
This article reports the development and validation of a scale to measure global life satisfaction, the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). Among the various components of subjective well-being, the SWLS is narrowly focused to assess global life satisfaction and does not tap related constructs such as positive affect or loneliness. The SWLS is shown to have favorable psychometric properties, including high internal consistency and high temporal reliability. Scores on the SWLS correlate moderately to highly with other measures of subjective well-being, and correlate predictably with specific personality characteristics. It is noted that the SWLS is suited for use with different age groups, and other potential uses of the scale are discussed.
The SWLS consists of 5-items that require a ratingon a 7-point Likert scale. Administration is rarely morethan a minute or 2 and can be completed by interview(including phone) or paper and pencil response. The in-strumentshouldnotbecompletedbyaproxyansweringfortheperson.Itemsofthe SWLSaresummedtocreatea total score that can range from 5 to 35.The SWLS is in the public domain. Permission isnot needed to use it. Further information regardingthe use and interpretation of the SWLS can be foundat the author’s Web site http://internal.psychology.illinois.edu/∼ediener/SWLS.html. The Web site alsoincludes links to translations of the scale into 27languages.
We investigated the relationship between various character strengths and life satisfaction among 5,299 adults from three Internet samples using the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths. Consistently and robustly associated with life satisfaction were hope, zest, gratitude, love, and curiosity. Only weakly associated with life satisfaction, in contrast, were modesty and the intellectual strengths of appreciation of beauty, creativity, judgment, and love of learning. In general, the relationship between character strengths and life satisfaction was monotonic, indicating that excess on any one character strength does not diminish life satisfaction.
How are character strengths related to recovery? A retrospective web-based study of 2087 adults found small but reliable associations between a history of physical illness and the character strengths of appreciation of beauty, bravery, curiosity, fairness, forgiveness, gratitude, humor, kindness, love of learning, and spirituality. A history of psychological disorder and the character strengths of appreciation of beauty, creativity, curiosity, gratitude, and love of learning were also associated. A history of problems was linked to decreased life satisfaction, but only among those who had not recovered. In the case of physical illness, less of a toll on life satisfaction was found among those with the character strengths of bravery, kindness, and humor, and in the case of psychological disorder, less of a toll on life satisfaction was found among those with the character strengths of appreciation of beauty and love of learning. We suggest that recovery from illness and disorder may benefit character.
'Tis an ill wind that blows no good.
English proverb
Vitality, or the energy available to the self, is a salient and functionally significant indicator of health and motivation. Previous models (e.g., Baumeister & Vohs, 2007) have suggested how such energy can be depleted but have focused less on how it can be maintained or enhanced. In this article, we describe a model of energy and vitality based on self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000). We review substantial evidence that, whereas the self-controlling regulation of behavior depletes vitality and energy, the autonomous self-regulation of behavior does not. A growing number of experimental and field studies also suggest that vitality and energy are enhanced by activities that satisfy basic psychological needs for relatedness, competence, and autonomy. Lifestyles focused on extrinsic goals are less conducive to need satisfaction and thus engender less vitality. We conclude that social psychological factors associated with need satisfaction have important implications for health and vitality and for informing interventions.
Different orientations to happiness and their association with life satisfaction were investigated with 845 adults responding to Internet surveys. We measured life satisfaction and the endorsement of three different ways to be happy through pleasure, through engagement, and through meaning. Each of these three orientations individually predicted life satisfaction. People simultaneously low on all three orientations reported especially low life satisfaction. These findings point the way toward a distinction between the full life and the empty life.
Popular statistical software packages do not have the proper procedures for determining the number of components in factor
and principal components analyses. Parallel analysis and Velicer’s minimum average partial (MAP) test are validated procedures,
recommended widely by statisticians. However, many researchers continue to use alternative, simpler, but flawed procedures,
such as the eigenvaluesgreater-than-one rule. Use of the proper procedures might be increased if these procedures could be
conducted within familiar software environments. This paper describes brief and efficient programs for using SPSS and SAS
to conduct parallel analyses and the MAP test.
The development of a classification of strengths, the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths, has done much to advance research into strengths of character. Using an Internet sample of 17,056 UK respondents, we present data on the character strengths of a large UK sample. Women typically scored higher on strengths than did men. However, four of the top five “signature strengths” of the UK men and women overall were the same (open-mindedness, fairness, curiosity, and love of learning). Strengths typically showed small but significant positive associations with age, with the strongest associations with age between curiosity and love of learning (strengths of wisdom and knowledge), fairness (a strength of justice), and forgiveness and self-regulation (strengths of temperance). The discussion addresses potential limitations and suggests pertinent directions for future research.
Strength-based assessment can enhance clinical clarity, improve the range of information, and provide a more complete picture of clients and their circumstances. Deficit-oriented assessment has improved the assessment and treatment of a number of disorders but, at the same time, has created a negative bias, considered strengths as clinical peripheries or by-products, tended to reduce clients to diagnostic categories, and created a power differential, which could be counterproductive to clinical efficacy. Strength-based assessment explores weaknesses as well as strengths to effectively deal with problems. We present a number of strength-based strategies for use in clinical practice. These strategies, we hope, will help clinicians to operationalize how strengths and weaknesses reverberate and contribute to a client's psychological status, which is comprehensive and guards against negative bias.
Self-regulation is a complex process that involves consumers’ persistence, strength, motivation, and commitment in order to be able to override short-term impulses. In order to be able to pursue their long-term goals, consumers typically need to forgo immediate pleasurable experiences that are detrimental to reach their overarching goals. Although this sometimes involves resisting to simple and small temptations, it is not always easy, since the lure of momentary temptations is pervasive. In addition, consumers’ beliefs play an important role determining strategies and behaviors that consumers consider acceptable to engage in, affecting how they act and plan actions to attain their goals. This dissertation investigates adequacy of some beliefs typically shared by consumers about the appropriate behaviors to exert self-regulation, analyzing to what extent these indeed contribute to the enhancement of consumers’ ability to exert self-regulation.
In this article, we examine subjective vitality, a positive feeling of aliveness and energy, in six studies. Subjective vitality is hypothesized to reflect organismic well-being and thus should covary with both psychological and somatic factors that impact the energy available to the self. Associations are shown between subjective vitality and several indexes of psychological well-being; somatic factors such as physical symptoms and perceived body functioning; and basic personality traits and affective dispositions. Subsequently, vitality is shown to be lower in people with chronic pain compared to matched controls, especially those who perceive their pain to be disabling or frightening. Subjective vitality is further associated with self-motivation and maintained weight loss among patients treated for obesity. Finally, subjective vitality is assessed in a diary study for its covariation with physical symptoms. Discussion focuses on the phenomenological salience of personal energy and its relations to physical and psychological well-being.
Popular statistical software packages do not have the proper procedures for determining the number of components in factor and principal components analyses. Parallel analysis and Velicer's minimum average partial (MAP) test are validated procedures, recommended widely by statisticians. However, many researchers continue to use alternative, simpler, but flawed procedures, such as the eigenvalues-greater-than-one rule. Use of the proper procedures might be increased if these procedures could be conducted within familiar software environments. This paper describes brief and efficient programs for using SPSS and SAS to conduct parallel analyses and the MAP test.
Moral competence among adolescents can be approached in terms of good character. Character is a multidimensional construct comprised of a family of positive traits manifest in an individual's thoughts, emotions and behaviours. The Values in Action Inventory for Youth (VIA-Youth) is a self-report questionnaire suitable for adolescents that measures 24 widely valued strength of character. Data from several samples bearing on the internal consistency, stability, and validity of the VIA-Youth are described, along with what is known about the prevalence and demographic correlates of the character strengths it measures. Exploratory factor analysis revealed an interpretable four-factor structure of the VIA-Youth subscales: temperance strengths (e.g., prudence, self-regulation), intellectual strengths (e.g., love of learning, curiosity), theological strengths (e.g., hope, religiousness, love), and other-directed (interpersonal) strengths (e.g., kindness, modesty). The uses of the VIA-Youth in research and practise are discussed along with directions for future research.
How are strengths of character related to growth following trauma? A retrospective Web-based study of 1,739 adults found small, but positive associations among the number of potentially traumatic events experienced and a number of cognitive and interpersonal character strengths. It was concluded that growth following trauma may entail the strengthening of character.
Methodological issues in positive psychology and the assessment of character strengths
- Park
Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2006b). Methodological issues in positive psychology and
the assessment of character strengths. In A. D. Ong & M. van Dulmen (Eds.),
Handbook of methods in positive psychology (pp. 292-305). New York: Oxford
University Press.
Average to A+: Realising strengths in yourself and others
- A Linley
Linley, A. (2008). Average to A+: Realising strengths in yourself and others. London:
CAPP Press.
Values in action scale and the Big 5: An empirical indication of structure
- Macdonald
Orientations to happiness and life satisfaction: The full versus the empty life
- Peterson
Construct explication through factor or component analysis: A review and evaluation of alternative procedures for determining the number of factors or components
- Velicer