Character Growth Following Collective Life Events: A Study on Perceived and Measured Changes in Character Strengths During the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Did the COVID-19 pandemic promote character growth? Studies using sequential samples suggest that collective life events can result in character growth, but their conclusions have been questioned. This study used three approaches to examine character growth during the first wave of the pandemic: perceived changes in oneself and in a close other, and a longitudinal analysis of changes. In addition, we tested whether character strengths assessed before the pandemic predicted specific instances of growth, that is, engagement in volunteering and compliance with regulations during the pandemic. German-speaking participants ( N = 366, 76.5% female, mean age: 45.33 years) who had completed an assessment of character strengths before the pandemic reported on perceived changes in character strengths, engagement in volunteering, and compliance with regulations. A subsample also completed a second assessment of character strengths. The results showed that (a) participants reported perceived changes for most character strengths in both themselves and close others, while (b) longitudinal increases were only observed for humility and prudence. Pre-pandemic character strengths predicted (c) engagement in volunteering and (d) compliance with regulations. We conclude that actual character growth was smaller than the perceived changes but that the character strengths did predict relevant behaviors related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Do stressful life events impact long-term well-being? Annual change in well-being following different life events compared to matched controls

“…Such studies show remarkable stability pre-and post-event across a range of outcomes, including 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1012120 empathy, life satisfaction, religiosity, and personality (Milojev et al, 2014;Chopik et al, 2021Chopik et al, , 2022Blackie and McLean, 2022;Dorfman et al, 2022;Fassbender et al, 2022;Forgeard et al, 2022;Jayawickreme et al, 2022;Reitz et al, 2022). Thus, stability or declines in functioning appear to be the more typical response to adversity, with growth or positive change being much less prevalent than suggested by prior cross-sectional research (Frazier et al, 2009;Davis et al, 2021;Rakhshani and Furr, 2021;Gander and Wagner, 2022;Infurna et al, 2022;Laceulle et al, 2022;Serrano et al, 2022). However, two primary shortcomings in current longitudinal research limit conclusions about growth or resilience.…”

Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic upon Chinese Positive Traits

“…So far, there are very few studies investigating the detailed changes in the 24 character strengths related to the pandemic. Gander and Wagner [ 22 ] measured three kinds of character strengths changes (i.e., self-perceived changes, perceived changes in close others, and the actual differences before and after the first wave of the pandemic) in a German-speaking area by a longitudinal study ( n = 372) comparing the first and the second pandemic wave. Although most of the character strengths except zest, hope, humor, and self-regulation showed perceived increases in the self and close others, none of the character strengths carried significant changes in actual differences.…”

“…As COVID-19 is concerned, empirical studies have also reported positive relations between character strengths and mental health, indicated by post-traumatic growth during and after the first pandemic wave [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. Character strengths could moderate between COVID-19-related stress and well-being [ 23 , 26 , 27 ].…”

“…Unfortunately, few works have been published on this issue. Only one study in a German-speaking area reported the perceived changes rather than real changes in character strengths by comparisons before and post the first wave of the pandemic [ 22 ]. On the other hand, as cultures differ along many psychological dimensions [ 1 ], people in different cultural backgrounds may react differently to disasters.…”

“…Taking the individualism-collectivism cultural syndrome as the most significant cultural difference [ 36 ], people from individualistic cultures, such as America, are likely to emphasize a high possibility of the personal self; on the contrary, people from collectivistic cultures, such as Asia, Africa, and South America, tend to emphasize the collective self and the connections with the group [ 37 ]. Obviously, previous works on character strength changes under disasters [ 22 , 31 ] were both conducted in individualistic cultures. Insights into collectivistic cultures and cross-cultural comparison remain ambiguous.…”