Character Strengths and Career Development of Academically Gifted Adolescents

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine character strengths in gifted adolescents using the Values in Action (VIA) Inventory of Strengths (Peterson & Seligman, 2004) and to investigate the predictive contribution of strengths (e.g., Wisdom and Knowledge, Courage, Humanity, Justice, Temperance, and Transcendence) to two factors related to students` career development. Character strengths are new and important topics of inquiry in Positive Psychology. The study revealed that mean scores of 24 character strengths of participants (N = 149) are lower than previous studies in different countries. Measurement of VIA-Youth, career decision-making self-efficacy and career decision-making types did vary by gender, GPA, and annual household income. Courage and Transcendence strengths are significantly and positively associated with career decision-making self-efficacy. Students who showed more Wisdom and Knowledge strength reported higher rational career decision-making style and students with more Humanity strength reported higher intuitive career decision-making style. Implications of the major findings and recommendations for future research are discussed.