Can Character Strengths Predict College Adjustment? A Study Carried Out in Nursing Students in the Argentine Republic

Abstract

The objective of the study was to analyse and develop an explanatory model of the relationship between strengths of character and adaptation to the university in nursing students from different educational institutes of the Provinces of Buenos Aires and Formosa, in its three dimensions—academic, social, and institutional. The prediction model was based on the 24 character strengths of 210 nursing students from different educational institutes of the Provinces of Buenos Aires and Formosa, aged between 20 and 55 years ( M = 28.49; SD = 7.51; 76% women). The Inventory of Virtues and Strengths and the Scale of Adaptation to the University were used. Three multiple linear regression analyses were carried out, one for each dimension of university adaptation. The strengths of citizenship, hope, prudence, and social intelligence predicted the social dimension. The strengths of vitality, citizenship, and fairness predicted the institutional dimension. The strengths of prudence, spirituality, and vitality predicted the academic dimension. The results allow us to state that character strengths constitute a valuable resource for the nursing student given their role as predictors of the ability to adapt to university life.

Character strengths, meaning in life, personal goal, and career adaptability among impoverished college students: A chain-mediating model

“…The Hypothesis 1 was confirmed. This partially agrees with earlier research findings [ 45 , 46 ]. The career construction theory believes that career development is a dynamic process full of internal motivation.…”

Fortalezas del carácter, malestar emocional y procrastinación académica de estudiantes de Psicología

“…La investigación previa también ha mostrado aportes interesantes en relación de las fortalezas del carácter con variables psicoeducativas (Cobo y García-Álvarez, 2023), entre ellas: ajuste y adaptación universitaria (Grinhauz et al, 2022), sentido de vida, metas personales y adaptabilidad de carrera (Lin & Jiang, 2023), personalidad resistente académica y compromiso (Arias et al, 2020). Con respecto a la salud, han sido asociadas positivamente a resiliencia (Kuang et al, 2023), salud mental y bienestar (Azañedo et al, 2020;Chan et al, 2022;De la Fuente et al, 2022), e inversamente con variables consideradas psicopatológicas, como afectos negativos y angustia psicológica (Dolev-Amit et al, 2021), ansiedad rasgo-estado (Mezo y Elhai, 2021), neuroticismo y afecto negativo (Anjum y Amjad, 2021), dificultades en el afrontamiento del estrés (Ferradás et al, 2021;Huber et al, 2017), depresión, ansiedad, conductas de riesgo y consumo de alcohol (Karris et al, 2021).…”

Chinese Virtues and Resilience among Students in Hong Kong

“…First, based on functional equivalence and conceptual equivalence, Duan et al [ 12 ] suggested that some items of the international measurement of virtue, values in action inventory of strengths (VIA-IS), might not be applicable in the Chinese context. Second, although subsequent studies revealed that character strengths relate positively to positive outcomes, including life satisfaction [ 13 ], well-being [ 14 ], and adaptability [ 15 ] in different contexts, there is a lack of scholarship on student virtues and resilience in Hong Kong. Third, despite the growing literature on student virtues, the potential impact of individual factors (i.e., both gender and school level) on virtue and resilience are not well understood.…”