Importance and Perception of the Character Strengths Scale: psychometric evidence in professors

Abstract

This study aimed at presenting the development and psychometric evidence of the Importance and Perception of Character Strengths Scale (IPCSS)-Professor Version. Two quantitative studies were conducted. In Study 1 the respondents were 214 college professors (mean age = 39.21; SD = 9.77; 55.6 % females), who answered the IPCSS-Professor and sociodemographic questions. Exploratory analysis suggested a one-factor structure for both subscales. Respondents in Study 2 were 262 college professors (mean age = 41.80; SD = 9.81; 50.8 % male). Confirmatory factor analysis suggested the adequacy of the six-factor structure theoretically proposed for both subscales after comparison with the alternative single-factor model. The IPCSS-Professor presented satisfactory reliability indexes and it is applicable for teachers of different sectors in order to understand their character strengths.