The Character Strengths Rating Form (CSRF): Development and initial assessment of a 24-item rating scale to assess character strengths

Abstract

Character strengths are morally, positively, valued traits that are related to several positive life outcomes. In this study, the Character Strengths Rating Form (CSRF), a 24-item rating form of character strengths based on the classification proposed by Peterson and Seligman (2004), was developed using the data of 211 German-speaking adults. The CSRF yielded good convergence with Peterson and Seligman’s Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS) in terms of descriptive statistics, relationships with socio-demographic variables, and associations with life satisfaction; the means correlated .91, and standard deviations correlated .80. Correlations between corresponding strengths in the CSRF and the VIA-IS were between .41 and .77. Rank-order correlations of the correlations of both measures with age, education, and life satisfaction were .74, .76, and .84, respectively. Factor structure congruence coefficients ranged between .92 and .99. The rank-order correlation of the associations of the 5 factors with life satisfaction was .90. The CSRF proved to be a valid instrument for the assessment of character strengths. Its use is recommended for a brief measurement of character strengths when economy of instruments is at a premium (e.g., in large-scale longitudinal studies).