What we know so far about measuring Character Strengths in autistic youths
Submitted by Jied Lei
Character Strengths (CS) is a framework that describes 24 human characteristics (e.g., Kindness, Honesty) that motivate people to take meaningful action in everyday life. However, the evidence for how CS is assessed in autistic people across the lifespan has not been evaluated. This study examined which tools are used to measure and characterise CS and if there are any related factors in autistic people of all ages, including youth. We searched for relevant scientific studies across 5 academic databases and the VIA CS website. We reviewed the studies to identify ways CS or qualities similar to CS are measured and any related factors.
We found 26 studies that met all criteria. Most research doesn’t use specific assessment tools to measure CS in autistic individuals. Instead, many studies used open response questions or questionnaires exploring strengths similar to CS. We found that most studies identified CS in autistic youths through reports from parents/carers, where CS like Love, Kindness, Perseverance, Honesty, Zest, Curiosity, Creativity, and Fairness were often endorsed. Only six studies explored if and how CS were related to wellbeing or life satisfaction. Two studies found that greater internalising (e.g., anxiety) and externalising difficulties (e.g., aggression) were linked with lower parent/carer reports of CS like Social Intelligence and Kindness.
Centring autistic voices, future research should explore autistic people’s CS from the perspective of different individuals in their lives (e.g., families, teachers, clinicians) across contexts to better understand barriers and facilitators for CS development. This may create more opportunities for autistic people to authentically use their strengths.
I’m a clinician – what does this mean for me?
Higher ratings of total strengths identified by autistic youths and their parents/carers is associated with life satisfaction and wellbeing. Exploring how CS may protect wellbeing and improve quality of life for autistic people across the lifespan may offer insights into ways of meaningfully embedding CS into clinical practice to support autistic wellbeing.