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Character Strengths' Change During COVID-19
Sahar Amoury Naddaf1, Shiri Lavy1
1Department of Leadership and Policy in Education, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
Journal of Happiness Studies
|November 14, 2022
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic prompted character strength development in individuals, particularly those with moderate challenges and social support. While some strengths increased, the overall changes were mild, with social support playing a key enhancing role.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Positive Psychology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic presented unprecedented global challenges.
- Existing literature suggests crises can foster personal growth and character development.
- The pandemic's impact on individual character strengths remains an area for investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development of individuals' character strengths.
- To examine the moderating role of perceived social support and experienced difficulty levels on character strength changes.
- To assess changes in 24 distinct character strengths before and during the pandemic.
Main Methods:
- A longitudinal study assessed 1700 participants' 24 character strengths twice: pre-pandemic and during the pandemic.
- Participants reported their perceived level of COVID-19 impact and social support during the second assessment.
- Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) and univariate analyses were employed to analyze changes in character strengths.
Main Results:
- A general increase in character strengths was observed, with significant, though often small, increases in 17 specific strengths.
- The level of COVID-19's impact (low, moderate, high) did not significantly differentiate changes across all 24 strengths.
- Social support significantly enhanced the increase in several character strengths, including love, prudence, and gratitude, with small effect sizes.
Conclusions:
- The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with detectable, albeit mild, character development processes in individuals.
- Social support played a crucial role in enhancing positive changes in specific character strengths during the pandemic.
- Future research should explore long-term effects and diverse populations to understand resilience and growth in adversity.
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