Character strengths and well-being across the life span: data from a representative sample of German-speaking adults living in Switzerland

Abstract

Character strengths are positive, morally valued traits of personality. This study aims at assessing the relationship between character strengths and subjective well-being (i.e., life satisfaction, positive and negative affect) in a representative sample of German-speaking adults living in Switzerland (N = 945). We further test whether this relationship is consistent at different stages in life. Results showed that hope, zest, love, social intelligence and perseverance yielded the highest positive correlations with life satisfaction. Hope, zest, humor, gratitude and love presented the highest positive correlations with positive affect. Hope, humor, zest, honesty, and open-mindedness had the highest negative correlations with negative affect. When examining the relationship between strengths and well-being across age groups, in general, hope, zest and humor consistently yielded the highest correlations with well-being. Additionally, in the 27–36 years group, strengths that promote commitment and affiliation (i.e., kindness and honesty) were among the first five positions in the ranking of the relationship between strengths and well-being. In the 37–46 years group, in addition to hope, zest and humor, strengths that promote the maintenance of areas such as family and work (i.e., love, leadership) were among the first five positions in the ranking. Finally, in the 47–57 years group, in addition to hope, zest and humor, strengths that facilitate integration and a vital involvement with the environment (i.e., gratitude, love of learning) were among the first five positions in the ranking. This study partially supports previous findings with less representative samples on the association between character strengths and well-being, and sheds light on the relative importance of some strengths over others for well-being across the life span.

Measuring character strengths as possible protective factors against suicidal ideation in older Chinese adults: a cross-sectional study

“…Character strengths play the role of a cognitive schema, serving to organize categories of information related to oneself, others, and the world [52]. Considerable research findings, including ours, have demonstrated the positive relationship between character strengths and wellbeing across culture, lifespan, and population [25,26,32,53,54]. Given the same conditions, older people with high character strengths likely perceive difficult moments in life in a less negative manner than those with low character strengths.…”

Strengths-based positive psychology interventions: a randomized placebo-controlled online trial on long-term effects for a signature strengths- vs. a lesser strengths-intervention

“…A sample item is “I find the world a very interesting place” (curiosity). Several studies demonstrated the good psychometric properties of the German version of the VIA-IS (e.g., Proyer and Ruch, 2009; Müller and Ruch, 2011; Güsewell and Ruch, 2012; Buschor et al, 2013; Proyer et al, 2013a; Martínez-Martí and Ruch, 2014). Internal consistencies in the present study ranged from α = 0.71 to 0.92 (median = 0.80).…”

“…One of the criteria for the inclusion of a strength in the classification was that it should contribute to individual fulfillment . Broad evidence has been collected over the past years from correlational studies (using different methods for the assessment of strengths including peer-reports and a broad variety in the samples studied) that the VIA-strengths are positively associated with different indicators of subjective well-being (see Park et al, 2004; Park and Peterson, 2006a,b; Peterson et al, 2007; Ruch et al, 2007, 2010, 2014a,b; Khumalo et al, 2008; Brdar et al, 2011; Proyer et al, 2011, 2013a; Gander et al, 2012; Güsewell and Ruch, 2012; Littman-Ovadia and Lavy, 2012; Buschor et al, 2013; Martínez-Martí and Ruch, 2014; Azañedo et al, 2014; Berthold and Ruch, 2014). When Peterson and Seligman (2004) introduced the VIA-classification, they argued that strengths are malleable and, therefore, could be used for strengths-based interventions 1 targeting well-being.…”

Promoción del bienestar psicológico en la secundaria: una experiencia piloto

“…Por su parte, Martinez-Marti & Ruch, (2014) publicaron que las fortalezas que más se relacionan con el bienestar son: inteligencia social y perseverancia; en otra instancia Buschor, Proyer, & Ruch, (2013) evidenciaron que la curiosidad, amor por el conocimiento y la gratitud tienen fuerte impacto en el bienestar psicológico; Proyer et al (2011) han informado fuertes correlaciones del humor con el bienestar psicológico; así como Park et al (2004) demostraron que la gratitud es una de las fortalezas más valiosas en la varianza del bienestar.…”