The Study of Character Strengths and Well-Being
Özet
Mediha Korkmaz's study investigates character strengths and well-being grounded in positive psychology, utilizing Peterson and Seligman’s Values in Action (VIA) classification framework, which categorizes 24 character strengths under 6 fundamental virtues: Wisdom, Courage, Humanity, Justice, Temperance, and Transcendence. Employing the Turkish Character Strengths Inventory (TCSI) alongside standard psychological scales, the research evaluated a convenient sample of 184 adult participants to examine the complex associations between character strengths, virtues, life satisfaction, psychological resilience, subjective happiness, mental well-being, and positive-negative affect, alongside demographic factors like age and gender. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed significant overall gender differences, with female participants scoring higher on Appreciation of Beauty, Capacity of Love, Gratitude, Kindness, and Spirituality. Age correlated positively with strengths such as Prudence, Self-regulation, Equity, Gratitude, Honesty, and Spirituality, whereas Humor exhibited a negative correlation with advancing age. Furthermore, multiple regression analyses demonstrated that Courage and Humanity virtues, alongside specific character strengths including Zest, Honesty, Capacity of Love, Kindness, and Social Intelligence, served as robust predictors explaining 60% of the variance in mental well-being. Overall, life satisfaction demonstrated strong associations with Capacity of Love, Hope, Leadership, Self-regulation, Persistence, and Zest, emphasizing the crucial role of positive psychological traits.
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