Cooley Sam J, Quinton Mary L, Holland Mark J G, Parry Benjamin J, Cumming Jennifer
School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom.
Department of Sport and Health, Newman University, Birmingham, United Kingdom.
Front Psychol. 2019 Sep 24;10:2036. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02036. eCollection 2019.
Individuals, particularly those considered "hard-to-reach," often engage well with assessment tools that involve active dialogue and the co-construction of knowledge. Strengths profiling is one such tool that enables a person-centered and autonomy supportive approach to the identification of character strengths. Strength profiling is an adaptation of performance profiling used in sport psychology, which has not yet been utilized in broader psychological research or clinical practice. Supporting an individual by raising awareness of their personal character strengths is an effective and growing mechanism for promoting psychological well-being. Strengths profiling involves several stages of exploring, defining, and assessing character strengths, leading to the identification of signature strengths and goals for future development. Informed by personal construct theory, the present study explored the experiences of homeless young people living in sheltered accommodation ( = 116), when using strengths profiling at the start and end of a 10-week, strengths-based intervention. Mixed-method data was obtained from the strengths profiles, questionnaires measuring resilience, self-worth, and well-being, and diary entries. Findings revealed a rich array of character strength terminology and individual meanings. Participants found strengths profiling to be highly engaging, particularly due to their active role in strength identification, which prompted interesting and meaningful reflections on character strengths that were pertinent to them. Participants felt their signature strengths were vital protective factors within their lives and strengths profiles were correlated with resilience, self-worth, and well-being. Character strengths and resilience were also significantly and meaningfully improved pre/post-intervention, providing support for the use of strengths profiling as a tool for monitoring change in character strength perceptions. Overall, this study demonstrates the utility and versatility of strengths profiling as a new method in the discipline of positive psychology and strengths-based research and applied practice.
个人,尤其是那些被认为“难以接触到”的人,通常会很好地参与涉及积极对话和知识共同构建的评估工具。优势剖析就是这样一种工具,它能以个人为中心,支持自主性,用于识别性格优势。优势剖析是对运动心理学中使用的表现剖析的一种改编,尚未在更广泛的心理学研究或临床实践中得到应用。通过提高个人对其性格优势的认识来支持他们,是促进心理健康的一种有效且不断发展的机制。优势剖析包括探索、定义和评估性格优势的几个阶段,从而确定标志性优势和未来发展目标。本研究以个人建构理论为依据,探讨了住在庇护所的无家可归年轻人(=116)在为期10周的基于优势的干预开始和结束时使用优势剖析的经历。从优势剖析、测量复原力、自我价值和幸福感的问卷以及日记条目中获得了混合方法数据。研究结果揭示了丰富的性格优势术语和个人意义。参与者发现优势剖析非常吸引人,特别是因为他们在优势识别中发挥了积极作用,这促使他们对与自己相关的性格优势进行有趣且有意义的反思。参与者认为他们的标志性优势是生活中至关重要的保护因素,优势剖析与复原力、自我价值和幸福感相关。干预前后,性格优势和复原力也有显著且有意义的改善,这为将优势剖析用作监测性格优势认知变化的工具提供了支持。总体而言,本研究证明了优势剖析作为积极心理学学科、基于优势的研究及应用实践中的一种新方法的实用性和多功能性。