The Importance, Opportunities, and Challenges of Empirically Assessing Character for the Promotion of Flourishing

VanderWeele, Tyler J.

doi:10.1177/00220574211026905

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…While this study found little evidence that character strengths, as assessed by the present items, were related with subsequent well-being in other domains of flourishing, several things should be held in mind. First, it may be more difficult to self-report on character strengths than on other domains of flourishing due to social desirability or a lack of self-awareness; alternatively, it may also be the case that the these newly proposed items are not the best item formulations for the purposes of self-assessment 73 . This may have been the case for example with the item "I always know the right thing to do, " which had negative associations with subsequent flourishing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal associations between domains of flourishing

Chen

Węziak‐Białowolska

Lee

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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The longitudinal interrelationships between domains of human well-being or flourishing remain understudied empirically. While different aspects of flourishing may be sought as their own end, it is also the case that well-being in one domain may influence well-being in other domains. Using longitudinal data form a sample of employees from a large national employer in the United States (N = 1209, mean age = 43.52 years, age range 20–74 years), this study examined the temporal associations between various domains of flourishing, based on a 40-item index that assessed six domains of flourishing. These domains include emotional health, physical health, meaning and purpose, character strengths, social connectedness, and financial security. A set of linear regression models were used to regress subsequent composite flourishing on flourishing domain-specific scores at baseline. The results indicated that all domains were each independently associated with greater composite flourishing subsequently. The strongest and most robust links were observed for meaning and purpose (β = 0.19, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.13, 0.25), social connectedness (β = 0.17, 95% CI 0.12, 0.22), and financial security (β = 0.32, 95% CI 0.28, 0.37). Further analyses that regressed subsequent composite flourishing on individual item indicators at baseline suggested that, out of all 40 items, one item under the character domain “I always act to promote good in all circumstances, even in difficult and challenging situations” and one item in the physical health domain (“Based on my past health, I expect to be healthy long into the future”) had the most robust association with subsequent composite flourishing. Implications of these results for understanding the constituents of a flourishing life and for refinement of the flourishing assessments are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal associations between domains of flourishing

Chen

Węziak‐Białowolska

Lee

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

Self Cite

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“…As the analysis of this past year reveals, this data infrastructure should attend to measures of implementation readiness and measures of character education implementation and outcomes. While validated measures of character virtues exist (see, for example VanderWeele, 2021 in this issue), the majority of KPCEL members were focused on proximal aims such as building will and capacity for embedding character education approaches, developing resources aligned to existing program aims, and testing out the implementation feasibility of new protocols and practices. Having a centralized data infrastructure can help facilitate data use, as teams do not have to devote limited time and resources to doing that work independently (Russell et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accelerating Character Education Learning Through a Networked Approach: Insights From the Kern Partners for Character and Educational Leadership

Tichnor-Wagner

2021

Journal of Education

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This article explores the utility of networked improvement communities (NICs) as an organizing structure for scaling character education across educational leadership programs through a case study of one network committed to integrating character education across varied institutions and contexts. In examining the improvement science process that guided NIC members’ development and implementation of character education approaches and their perceptions of and participation in NIC activities, this case study offers insights on the promise of structured collaboration across diverse institutions. Furthermore, it identifies the need for NICs to differentiate improvement science activities based on participants’ institutional readiness for character education.

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“…Although historical measures of flourishing tended to focus exclusively on psychological well-being (e.g., happiness or life satisfaction), the development of more sophisticated conceptional frameworks include domains of physical health, virtue strengths [34,35], meaning and purpose, and financial and material resources that are undeniably linked to sustained flourishing over time (see Box 2) [36]. In Western nations, those who score high on wellbeing scales perceive their family background as wealthy, rate their general health status as excellent, and report higher perceived social resource [37]; for example, optimism, a psychological asset oft-associated with flourishing and healthy lifestyle habits [38], does not sit on an equitable playing field-it is highly associated with socioeconomic advantage [39][40][41][42].…”

Section: Flourishing-people Places and Planetmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wise Ancestors, Good Ancestors: Why Mindfulness Matters in the Promotion of Planetary Health

et al. 2021

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The concept of planetary health blurs the artificial lines between health at scales of person, place, and planet. It emphasizes the interconnected grand challenges of our time, and underscores the need for integration of biological, psychological, social, and cultural aspects of health in the modern environment. Here, in our Viewpoint article, we revisit vaccine pioneer Jonas Salk’s contention that wisdom is central to the concept of planetary health. Our perspective is centered on the idea that practical wisdom is associated with decision-making that leads to flourishing—the vitality and fullest potential of individuals, communities, and life on the planet as a whole. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has illustrated the acute consequences of unwise and mindless leadership; yet, wisdom and mindfulness, or lack thereof, is no less consequential to grotesque biodiversity losses, climate change, environmental degradation, resource depletion, the global burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), health inequalities, and social injustices. Since mindfulness is a teachable asset linked to both wisdom and flourishing, we argue that mindfulness deserves much greater attention in the context of planetary health.

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The Importance, Opportunities, and Challenges of Empirically Assessing Character for the Promotion of Flourishing

Cited by 13 publications

References 48 publications

Longitudinal associations between domains of flourishing

Longitudinal associations between domains of flourishing

Accelerating Character Education Learning Through a Networked Approach: Insights From the Kern Partners for Character and Educational Leadership

Wise Ancestors, Good Ancestors: Why Mindfulness Matters in the Promotion of Planetary Health

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