Character strengths sustain mental health and post-traumatic growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. A longitudinal analysis

Abstract

Objective

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought negative and positive changes in the general population, with some people experiencing post-traumatic growth after the first wave. Little research has focused, however, on personal factors potentially helping individuals cope with COVID-related difficulties. This study investigates the relations between character strengths, mental health, and post-traumatic growth.

Design

Longitudinal (T1: April 2020; T2: December 2020–January 2021).

Main outcome measures

254 Italian adults (54 males; mean age = 36.05, SD = 14.04) completed questionnaires on character and mental health at T1, and on mental health and post-traumatic growth at T2.

Results

General mental health was worse at T2 than at T1. Structural equation modelling showed that character, as a whole, had a significant direct effect on post-traumatic growth and mental health at T2, and an indirect effect mediated by post-traumatic growth. Furthermore, regression analyses evidenced that the virtue of transcendence was uniquely related to mental health at T2, while humanity was specifically associated with post-traumatic growth (after accounting for the other virtues).

Conclusion

Individuals’ character strengths related to their mental health and post-traumatic growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, with evidence of post-traumatic growth mediating the relation between character and mental health.

Keywords:

• character strengths
• virtues
• post-traumatic growth
• mental health
• COVID-19

Disclosure statement

The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to report.

Data availability statement

The Data That Support The Findings Of This Study Are Openly Available In: http://Doi.Org/10.6084/M9.Figshare.14101973.

Additional information

Funding

The present work was conducted as part of the Dipartimenti di Eccellenza research program (DM 11/05/2017 n. 262), supported by a grant from the Italian Ministry of Education to the Department of General Psychology, University of Padova.