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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.
... Other researchers have developed other short forms, such as the Chinese Virtues Questionnaire (90 items) [19,20], The Strength Inventory (72 items) [45], and the Global Assessment of Character Strengths (72 items) [42]. Using factor analysis, different factor structure models, such as three-factor [31,46,47], four-factor [16,31,[48][49][50], five-factor [8,16,18], and six-factor models [18,51], were found. The short form is generally equivalent to the original version in terms of reliability and validity. ...
... Berger and McGrath [32,58] argued that the latent nature of virtues and character strengths might be perceived differently across cultures and contexts [2,16,56]. For example, the interpretation of temperance and transcendence could differ between Chinese and Western cultures [4,46]. The deep-rooted notion of temperance in collectivistic societies may have a more profound meaning in non-Western cultures [49]. ...
... These strengths had communalities that ranged from 0.23 to 0.67. The four-component solution has also been found in past research [23,46]. This model was tested to determine if the results obtained through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) can be reproduced using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on sub-sample 2. This approach has been employed in previous studies [17,23]. ...
Character strengths encompass a set of positive traits that can be manifested through thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. To measure the 24 character strengths, the Character Strengths–Semantic Differential Scale (CS-SDS) was used. The aim of the study was to (a) test the factor structure of CS-CDS and (b) test the convergent validity of CS-CDS with life satisfaction and positive affect, and the divergent validity of CS-SDS with negative affect. In total, 283 Singaporean students (96 males, 35.3%), with a median age of 24–26 years old (42.9%), participated in this study. Exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) showed the multi-dimensional nature of CS-SDS. Specifically, EFA demonstrated a four-factor model, while CFA identified a five-factor model, showing the dimensions of interpersonal, emotional, restraint, theological, and intellectual. All factors were significantly related to life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect. It was concluded that CS-SDS is a psychometrically sound instrument for measuring character strengths in the Asian context. This tool can be used for designing strength-based interventions aimed at promoting well-being and character among students in higher education.
... The VIA's six virtues are considered universal across time and cultures, including in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region (Dahlsgaard et al., 2005;. Many studies have examined its psychometric properties, factorial structure, as well as its demographic correlates in different countries such as the UK (Linley et al., 2007), India (Singh & Choubisa, 2010), Croatia (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010), China (Duan et al., 2012), Switzerland (Martínez-Martí & Ruch, 2014), Brazil (Noronha et al., 2015), USA (McGrath & Wallace, 2021), Italy (Feraco et al., 2022), Germany and UK (Partsch et al., 2022), United Arab of Emirates (Petkari et al., 2018) and Qatar (AlAhmadi, 2020). ...
... They suggested either a three or four-dimensional model may provide a promising framework for future investigation. Brdar and Kashdan (2010) provided second-order principal component analyses of 24 strengths in Croatia. The initial extraction produced four factors with Eigenvalues exceeding 1. ...
NEW PUBLICATION
بفضل الله ومعاونه الأخ الأستاذ الفاضل الدكتور وليد مسعود تم نشر عمل علمى مشترك بمعاونة مجموعه متميزه من الأساتذه بعدد من الدول العربيه
تحياتى
View of Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance of the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths Reduced Set for Nine Arab Countries
middleeastjournalofpositivepsychology.org
... She also developed interest in character strengths, being among the first authors who examined the VIA-IS factor structure (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010). The study of gender differences in character strengths showed that some strengths (intelligence, perspective, valor and beauty) were more related with life satisfaction only for males . ...
... She participated in translating and validating the most widely used scales and questionnaires for assessing eudaimonic and hedonic happiness, life aspirations, character strengths, meaning in life, and sources of meaning. She is best known for the validation of the VIA-IS questionnaire in Croatia (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010) and the construction of the Eudaimonic and Hedonic Questionnaire, together with Antonella Delle Fave (Delle Fave et al., 2011. ...
... Results highlight potential inconsistencies that merit attention. According to these studies, solutions with three factors (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010;Duan & Bu, 2017;Shryack et al., 2010), four factors (Macdonald et al., 2008;McGrath, 2015;McGrath & Walker, 2016;Park & Peterson, 2006;Shryack et al., 2010), five factors (Azañedo et al., 2021;McGrath, 2015;Park & Peterson, 2006;Peterson et al., 2008;Ruch et al., 2010), six factors (Furnham & Lester, 2012;Leontopoulou & Triliva, 2012;Ng et al., 2017;Ruch & Proyer, 2015;Ruch et al., 2010), and seven factors (Furnham & Lester, 2012) are equally possible. ...
... In summary, the results of the EFA differed from the theoretical expectations (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). However, the EFA corroborated other empirical studies (Dahlsgaard, 2005;Macdonald et al., 2008;McGrath, 2015;McGrath & Walker, 2016;Park & Peterson, 2006;Brdar & Kashdan, 2010;Shryack et al., 2010), which, like ours, also revealed a fourfactor structure to be the best fit (see Table 3, row 2). ...
Introduction: Several studies have shown the inconsistent factorial structures of the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths between cultures. Aims: This paper describes an adapted Hungarian version of the 24-item Values in Action Inventory of Strengths for adults. Methods: Participants in three online self-report questionnaire-based crosssectional studies (Sn = 10,911) filled in the 24-item Values in Action Inventory of Strengths, the Global Well-being Scale, Huppert’s and Diener’s Flourishing Scales, and the Positivity Scale. Results: The exploratory factor analyses provided evidence for four factors: Wisdom and Knowledge; Humanity; Temperance; and Spirituality and Transcendence. The scales showed excellent internal consistency values in each study. The confirmatory factor analyses of the subsamples also showed a good fit. Low discriminant but excellent content validity was proved. Participants rated themselves highest on Humanity and lowest on Temperance. Women reported significantly higher values on both the Humanity and the Spirituality and Transcendence virtue scales than did men. The Wisdom and Knowledge virtue showed a positive correlation with education level. Among those living alone, Humanity was significantly lower, while the level of Humanity among married people stood significantly higher than in any other group. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the Hungarian version of the 24-item Values in Action Inventory of Strengths for adults serves as a suitable measure for assessing character strengths and virtues.
... This research demonstrated that love, social intelligence, and forgiveness were mostly associated with dimensions of subjective well-being and psychological flourishing. These results resemble previous research findings on how specific strengths like forgiveness (Datu & Bernardo, 2020) and broader categories of virtues such as interpersonal character strengths (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010;Park & Peterson, 2006) relate to optimal psychological outcomes in Western societies (i.e., United States). To our knowledge, this research is the first to demonstrate the links of selected interpersonal character strengths and well-being outcomes in adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. ...
... To our knowledge, this research is the first to demonstrate the links of selected interpersonal character strengths and well-being outcomes in adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is likely that strengths may relate to higher well-being as espousing these strengths can facilitate effective coping strategies (Gustems-Carnicer & Caldéron, 2016) and needs satisfaction (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010). ...
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.
... 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
... A strength like optimism, for example, mediates the relationship between emotional stability factors and emotional well-being as well as the relationship between personality facets (Serrano et al., 2020). The relevance of character strengths like vitality is intricately linked to well-being (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010;Xie et al., 2020). Character strengths can positively impact individuals' overall well-being, both personally and professionally (Huber et al., 2020). ...
... Strengths are qualities that come naturally, feel authentic, are motivating to use, and energizing (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010). Schools can explicitly teach character strengths. ...
This chapter explores the effectiveness and challenges of implementing positive education programs in school settings. It provides an overview of positive psychology, defines well-being, and examines the intersection of positive psychology principles with educational contexts. The chapter also presents various interventions derived from positive psychology used in schools, reviews empirical findings on their efficacy, and addresses implementation challenges. Finally, it offers insights into potential future directions and areas of focus within positive psychology in school settings.
... However, it is important to mention that the categorisation of strengths into virtues, as used to parallel twenty-first century leadership competencies with character strengths in Table 3, has faced criticism. McGrath [164] argued for a three-factor model as potentially more appropriate, while others have advocated for a four-factor model [165]. Nevertheless, other approaches (see Ruch et al. [166] for a review) confirm the overall validity of the six virtues framework while acknowledging deviations from its original conception. ...
A substantial amount of research, resources, and effort has been invested in the search for a 'holy grail' of twenty-first century leadership competencies. Ironically, despite the increasing significance of leadership and the substantial investments in uncovering the attributes of successful leaders, concerns persist regarding the quality of leadership worldwide. While the literature extensively outlines 'what' twenty-first century-ready leaders should embody, there remains a gap in outlining 'how' to nurture such leaders. We contrast existing practices that have focused on teaching functional content and relying on retrospective and deficit-based competency models by advocating for a strengths-based perspective. While there has been an increasing interest in positive psychology, which promotes a shift away from prevalent deficit correction approaches towards a framework that emphasises social-emotional and meta-cognitive strengths, character strengths have received little attention in corporate leader development programmes. We argue that nurturing character strengths offers a more sustainable, self-reinforcing process for twenty-first century leader development to overcome the limitations of short-lived leadership training results that fade over time. The Values in Action Classification of Character Strengths and Virtues provides a robust framework for identifying and nurturing these strengths. However, character strengths have traditionally been viewed as personal attributes, rather than leadership competencies. We challenge traditional views on leader development by arguing that character strengths reflect the competencies required of twenty-first century-ready leaders, as these more 'humane' characteristics remain relevant over time and valued across cultures because they represent qualities that are universally appreciated in defining 'what makes a good person'.
... In other words, these functions are expected to boost students' motivation, emotions, and strategies related to their study. Indeed, soft skills could help in satisfying basic psychological needs that, according to the self-determination theory and related findings, promote motivation, emotions, and strategy regulation at school (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010;Deci & Ryan, 2012;Le� on et al., 2015). Similarly, in line with the three functions delineated, it is possible that students with higher soft skills will also develop higher metacognitive abilities because they will tend to reflect more on their behaviors, thoughts, and emotions. ...
... Seligman (2011) propone como una de las actividades para incrementar el bienestar el uso de las fortalezas en nuestro día a día, para involucrarnos en lo que estamos haciendo. Las investigaciones empíricas vienen a reflejar que las fortalezas que más se relacionan con el bienestar son aquellas que hacen posible una vida plena (Peterson et al., 2007): esperanza, vitalidad, gratitud, amor y curiosidad (Brdar y Kashdan, 2010;Park et al., 2004;Park y Peterson 2006;Peterson y Park, 2009). ...
RESUMEN En la institución penitenciaria española, y en conformidad con el mandato constitucional, los programas específicos de tratamiento se han consolidado de manera significativa. Una de las características de estas intervenciones es que se orientan fundamentalmente hacia el abor-daje terapéutico de los factores de riesgo de las personas privadas de libertad. Se trata, pues, de intervenciones dirigidas a trabajar las necesidades y carencias de los internos e internas con el objetivo de reducir la probabilidad de reincidencia delictiva. Si bien es cierto que el trabajo con factores de riesgo es absolutamente necesario y fundamental en el marco de las intervenciones penitenciarias, en la actualidad se observa un notable interés en ámbito académico hacia nuevos modelos de intervención. En este sentido, un cre-ciente número de investigaciones y propuestas teóricas apuntan a la importancia de abordar también el desarrollo del bienestar y las fortalezas de las personas privadas de libertad, como elementos complementarios a la reducción de los factores de riesgo. Estos nuevos enfoques se basan en la premisa de que trabajar sobre las fortalezas y el bien-estar de los internos puede resultar igual de efectivo, si no más, que la intervención exclusiva en sus riesgos y carencias. De esta manera, se pretende transitar hacia una visión más integra-dora y humanizada de la intervención penitenciaria, que contribuya de manera efectiva a la reinserción social y la reducción de la reincidencia. Palabras clave: bienestar, fortalezas, prisión, programas de intervención, tratamiento pe-nitenciario.
... Our results suggested that character strengths and PA are positively related for both boys and girls. While previous studies (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010;Gillham et al., 2011;Shoshani & Shwartz, 2018;Toner et al., 2012) indicate that children's character strengths are associated with mental well-being, our findings illustrate that character strengths are also associated with physical well-being. Furthermore, while no trend was observed among girls, character strengths was large related to cardiorespiratory fitness in boys compared to other PF categories. ...
Objective
This study is the first to examine the relationship between character strengths, objective physical fitness, and physical activity in primary school children.
Design
This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2016 and 2017 at a school in Japan. Main Outcome Measures: We obtained informed consent from 236 fourth-grade students; 122 fifth-grade students; and 142 sixth-grade students. After excluding participants with missing data, 473 children (247 boys and 226 girls; aged 9–12 years) with informed consent were included in the study. We measured character strengths, physical fitness, and/or physical activity of fourth- to sixth-grade participants.
Results
Among boys, the total score of physical fitness was significantly associated with perseverance-honesty, courage-ideas, compassion-gratitude, and fairness-care (p < 0.05). Among girls, the total score of physical fitness was significantly associated with perseverance-honesty, courage-ideas, and compassion-gratitude (p < 0.05). Regarding the relationship between character strengths and physical activity, perseverance-honesty was significantly associated with total steps and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), whereas courage ideas were significantly associated with total steps (p < 0.05) in boys. In girls, perseverance-honesty was associated with MVPA (p < 0.05).
Conclusions
Our findings revealed that character strengths are positively associated with objective physical fitness and physical activity in primary-school children.
... 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.
This review provides a comprehensive overview of interventions on character strengths in college and university students. Both qualitative and quantitative studies were reviewed. The review showed that focusing on character strengths leads to improved well-being, stronger interpersonal relationships, and reduced levels of stress, depression, anxiety, and academic pressure among students. The review also suggests that such interventions can be integrated into elective courses, first-year programs, and short-term training sessions tailored to address the specific needs of students. The interventions can offer a cost-effective alternative to traditional mental health strategies and could be implemented within college counseling centers. The limitations and practical implications of character strengths intervention modules designed specifically for college students are pointed out. By highlighting positive attributes and nurturing personal growth, character strengths interventions emerge as a valuable tool in bolstering the overall well-being of college students.
La evidencia actual respecto a la efectividad de las intervenciones basadas en las fortalezas de carácter apunta a señalar el gran potencial que poseen para fomentar el bienestar y reducir la sintomatología depresiva. Sin embargo, aún existen cuestionamientos que es necesario abordar para desarrollar la investigación en curso acerca de este tema. En esta revisión narrativa se evalúan algunos aspectos que pueden orientar esta indagación científica, tales como el papel que tienen las intervenciones personalizadas y sus diferencias con las intervenciones genéricas, las fortalezas correlacionadas con el bienestar, las fortalezas distintivas y los contextos en los que se puede justificar dicho estudio. Se concluye que, pese a las contribuciones al fomento del bienestar a partir de la implementación de este tipo de intervenciones, las evidencias sobre su efectividad aún tienen algunas aristas por explorar que permitirán una mejoría en los efectos obtenidos, tales como los mecanismos y aportaciones que cada una de las fortalezas otorga a otros aspectos del bienestar y al funcionamiento psicológico en diferentes áreas de la vida.
Studies have focused on protective factors for high-track students but not low-track students (where risk factors are the focus instead). Thus, the present study investigated the character strengths (i.e., caring, self-control, and inquisitiveness) that serve as protective factors of school adjustment for low-track students under the ability grouping framework. Seventh grade students (n = 211 at Time 1) completed an online survey regarding their personal and family demographic information and character strengths. The students were assigned to a low-ability group (LAG) and high-ability group (HAG) according to their mathematics examination scores at the start of the first semester in 2017. At the end of the same semester, the students completed another questionnaire (n = 202 at Time 2) about their academic self-efficacy, positive emotions, sense of belonging to the class, and examination scores. The HAG scored significantly higher on the three strengths, and their parents generally had higher educational levels. In the LAG, self-control was the strongest predictor of academic self-efficacy and sense of belonging to the class, and inquisitiveness was the strongest predictor of positive emotions. In the HAG, none of the three strengths were significantly related to academic self-efficacy and positive emotions; inquisitiveness only significantly predicted the sense of belonging to the class. Character strengths compensated for socioeconomic disadvantage by enhancing school adjustment in the LAG. Future psychoeducational interventions should adopt ability grouping to promote school adjustment and mitigate the effects of socioeconomic disparity in schools.
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
ABSZTRAKT
Elméleti háttér: Az önmagát a boldogság és az emberi erősségek tudományaként definiáló pozitív pszichológia egyik legjelentősebb eredménye a karaktererősségek és erények rendszertanának megalkotása. Cél: Tanulmányunk célja megvizsgálni a Karaktererősségek Teszt 24 itemes, rövidített, felnőttekre kidolgozott, magyar változatának (VIA-H) reliabilitását és validitását, valamint e mérőeszköz mentális egészséggel és szociodemográfiai mutatókkal való kapcsolatát magyar mintán. Módszerek: Három önbeszámolós, kérdőíves, online keresztmetszeti vizsgálat részvevői (∑ n = 10 911) kitöltötték a Karaktererősségek Teszt 24 itemes változatát, a Globális Jóllét Kérdőívet, a Diener-féle Virágzás Skálát, a Huppert-féle Virágzás Kérdőívet, a Pozitivitás Skálát és a Rövidített Pszichológiai Immunrendszer kérdőívet. Eredmények: Az összesített mintán elvégzett feltáró faktorelemzés négy faktor meglétét igazolta (sajátértékek: 10,82, 1,68, 1,21, 1,09; kumulatív magyarázott varianciaarány: 61,65%), úgymint: Emberiesség, Bölcsesség és tudás, Mértékletesség, valamint Spiritualitás és transzcendencia. A négy skála mindegyik vizsgálatban kiváló belső konzisztenciaértékeket mutatott (0,738 és 0,885 közötti Cronbach- α- és McDonald- ω -értékek). Az almintákon elvégzett konfirmatív faktorelemzések jó illeszkedést mutattak a feltáró faktorelemzés során nyert négyfaktoros modellhez. A skálák alacsonyabb diszkriminációs (43%-os egyedi rész), de kiváló tartalmi validitását sikerült igazolni ( r S > 0,5). A válaszadók körében legmagasabbra értékelt erény az Emberiesség, míg a legkevésbé fontosnak tartott erény a Mértékletesség. A nők statisztikai értelemben kismértékben magasabb értékeket adtak az Emberiesség ( d (3756,0) = –15,641, p < 0,001, Cohen- d = 0,378), valamint a Spiritualitás és transzcendencia erény skálákra ( d (3900,9) = –12,394, p < 0,001, Cohen- d = 0,293), mint a férfiak. A Bölcsesség és tudás erény pozitív irányú kapcsolatot mutatott az iskolázottsági szinttel ( r S = 0,211, p < 0,001). Az egyedül élőknél az Emberiesség erény alacsony szintje ( M = 4,85, SD = 0,96; F (3; 9825) = 52,27, p < 0,001, η ² = 0,016) minden más csoporténál szignifikánsan ( p < 0,001) alacsonyabb, a házasok átlaga ( M = 5,14, SD = 0,78) pedig minden más csoporténál szignifikánsan ( p < 0,001) nagyobb volt. Következtetések: A Karakterősségek Teszt rövidített felnőtt magyar változata (VIA-H) megbízható és érvényes mérőeszköznek bizonyult, amely alkalmas az erények és karaktererősségek rendszerének mérésére.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In the short time since the publication of the Handbook of Positive Psychology, research results on the psychology of human strengths have proliferated. However, no major volume has documented the methods and theory used to achieve these results. Oxford Handbook of Methods in Positive Psychology fills this need, providing a broad overview of diverse contemporary methods in positive psychology. With contributions from both leading scholars and promising young investigators, the handbook serves to illuminate and, at times, challenge traditional approaches. Incorporating multiple levels of analysis, from biology to culture, the contributors present state-of-the-art techniques, including those for estimating variability and change at the level of the individual, identifying reliability of measurements within and across individuals, and separating individual differences in growth from aspects of phenomena that exhibit shorter-term variability over time. The volume covers such topics as wisdom, health, hope, resilience, religion, relationships, emotions, well-being, character strengths, and laughter. It enhances our understanding of the balance between human deficits and strengths and demonstrated their connections to other problems. Oxford Handbook of Methods in Positive Psychology will be the essential reference for methods in positive psychology.
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.
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.
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