engleski

Approaches to Happiness and Strengths of Character in Relation to Gender

People have long been concerned with good life and how it can be achieved. According to Seligman (2002) there are three paths to happiness: the life of pleasure, the life of engagement and the life of meaning. This study aims to explore the relationship between character strengths, different approaches to happiness, and life satisfaction. Another goal is to find possible gender differences in these links. Three questionnaires were administered to 537 female and 340 male students, Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (Peterson & Seligman, 2003, 2004), Approaches to Happiness Questionnaire (Park & Seligman, 2005), and The Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al., 1985). The first aim was to investigate whether some strengths show a stronger link to life satisfaction and approaches to happiness than others. Zest, hope and gratitude had the strongest link to life satisfaction. Humor, zest and gratitude had the highest correlations with pleasant life. Spirituality, creativity and perspective had the highest correlations with meaningful life, while creativity, zest and curiosity had the highest correlations with good life. The second aim was to explore gender differences. Women and men differed significantly in 10 character strengths, but they did not differ in either approach to happiness or in life satisfaction. Integrity, kindness, love, gratitude and fairness were five highest weighted strengths for women, compared to integrity, hope, humor, gratitude and curiosity, strengths highest weighted by men. Significant predictors of life satisfaction are also different. For women, life satisfaction was predicted by zest, gratitude, hope, appreciation of beauty and love, whereas men' life satisfaction was predicted by creativity, perspective, fairness and humor. These findings seem to be partly congruent with gender stereotypes. Life satisfaction entails living in accordance with the strengths especially valued in the culture.

approaches to happiness; VIA; strengths of character

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