Examining Character Structure and Function Across Childhood and Adolescence

Abstract

Character strengths are an integral component of positive youth development that can promote flourishing. Developmental principles posit constructs become increasingly complex with age, yet this process has not been examined with character. Using a socioeconomically and ethnically diverse sample of 2,467 youth ages 9-19, bifactor models were estimated across elementary, middle, and high school-age groups to examine age differences in character structure and function. With successive age, a greater number of specific character strength factors were identified, suggesting character structure becomes more differentiated across adolescence. Results linking character bifactor models to indicators of positive functioning also supported differentiation in character function across ages. Findings point to the need for theoretical and empirical considerations of character structure and function across development.

Cross-sectional age differences in 24 character strengths: Five meta-analyses from early adolescence to late adulthood

“…Parent reports (Park & Peterson, 2006b;Shoshani, 2019) for pre-school children and self-reports for school children (Shoshani & Shwartz, 2018) could be used to evaluate the early development of character strengths and its moderators (e.g., school type or membership in a youth association; Ruch & Wagner, 2013). Furthermore, a recent study supported the notion that the structure of character strengths (which partially overlapped with the strengths in the VIA classification) becomes more differentiated and complex from late childhood to adolescence (Shubert, Wray-Lake, Syvertsen, & Metzger, 2019).…”

Mindset as Characteristic Adaptations: Using Response Surface Analysis to Assess Mindset in the Personality System

“…Werner ( 1957 ) orthogenetic principle suggests that as development occurs, there is a process from a state of globality and lack of differentiation to a state of increasing differentiation, articulation, and integration. Returning again to the example of character, researchers have found that global character becomes more differentiated and specific as children become adolescents (Shubert et al, 2019 ). Mindset may follow a similar trajectory, the domains becoming more differentiated with age before later integration.…”

Karakter Gotong Royong dalam Paket Pembelajaran Sema

“…Mengenalkan karakter kebangsaan pada anak perlu didukung berbagai sumber dan desain pembelajaran yang sesuai dengan karakteristik anak. Namun, kenyataannya tantangan implementasi pendidikan karakter dalam proses pembelajaran merupakan akibat kurangnya pemahaman guru mengenai nilai karakter yang diajarkan, keterbatasan desain pembelajaran dan pemilihan pendekatan yang sesuai (Shubert et al, 2019). Perlu adanya program karakter yang terencana dan komprehensif merupakan langkah awal dan upaya terus menerus agar suatu nilai karakter dapat terintegrasi dengan semua aspek kehidupan sekolah (Lickona et al, 2011).…”