VIA Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS)

1. Abstract

The VIA Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS), initially developed by Christopher Peterson and Martin E. P. Seligman (2004), represents the foundational self-report psychometric instrument of contemporary positive psychology. Designed explicitly as a scientific counterweight to the psychiatric classification established by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the VIA-IS assesses individual differences in morally valued positive traits termed “character strengths.” The standard long-form instrument comprises 240 items configured to evaluate 24 empirically and cross-culturally validated character strengths, organized conceptually under six overarching core virtues: Wisdom and Knowledge, Courage, Humanity, Justice, Temperance, and Transcendence. Each strength is measured via a 10-item subscale using a standard 5-point Likert response format ranging from 1 (“Very much unlike me”) to 5 (“Very much like me”). Psychometric investigations across diverse global populations and normative datasets encompassing hundreds of thousands of respondents indicate that the scale possesses robust psychometric properties. Internal consistency reliability coefficients for the individual 24 subscales consistently meet or exceed conventional psychometric criteria, with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients typically ranging from α = .70 to α = .90, and four-month test-retest reliability estimates exhibiting stability above r = .70. Construct, convergent, and criterion-related validities are widely supported through substantial positive correlations with subjective well-being, life satisfaction, vocational engagement, post-traumatic growth, and physical health, alongside strong convergence with alternate dispositional metrics such as the Gallup StrengthsFinder and the Big Five personality traits. Although original factor-analytic studies sought to replicate the theoretical six-virtue hierarchy, empirical exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses consistently identify robust three- to five-factor structures that capture broader cognitive, interpersonal, emotional, and self-regulatory metatraits. The VIA-IS serves as an indispensable psychometric baseline in personality assessment, positive clinical psychology, organizational development, and educational psychology.

2. Keywords

VIA Inventory of Strengths, VIA-IS, character strengths, positive psychology, virtues, Christopher Peterson, Martin Seligman, psychometrics, well-being, signature strengths, factor analysis, assessment.

3. Authors

The VIA Inventory of Strengths was conceived and operationalized under the leadership of:

• Christopher Peterson, Ph.D. (1950–2012) — Formerly Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. Dr. Peterson served as the principal scientific director of the Values in Action (VIA) project and co-architect of the classification of character strengths and virtues.
• Martin E. P. Seligman, Ph.D. — Zellerbach Family Professor of Psychology and Director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Dr. Seligman is broadly credited as the founder of modern positive psychology and initiated the VIA initiative during his presidency of the American Psychological Association (APA).
• Values in Action (VIA) Institute on Character — A non-profit operating foundation established in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, which oversees the intellectual property, ongoing empirical standardization, research collaborations, and translation initiatives for the VIA measurement battery.

4. Purpose

The development of the VIA Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS) addressed an acute, long-standing historical imbalance within clinical psychology and psychiatric epidemiology. Throughout the twentieth century, clinical assessment frameworks were anchored almost exclusively to pathogenic models of psychological distress, structural deficits, and neurosis. Foundational nosologies—specifically the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD)—established rigorous taxonomies for operationalizing psychopathology, psychological dysfunction, and maladaptive behaviors. However, psychology possessed no equivalent, scientifically rigorous nomenclature for measuring the positive attributes of psychological health, optimal functioning, and human virtue.

To redress this paradigm, Peterson and Seligman launched the Values in Action (VIA) project under the auspices of the Manuel D. and Rhoda Mayerson Foundation. Their primary objective was to construct an “un-DSM”—a systematic, empirically driven taxonomy of human virtues and positive personality traits that could be measured reliably across the lifespan, across heterogeneous cultures, and independent of specific dogmatic, philosophical, or religious doctrines. Rather than viewing mental health simply as the absence of diagnosable mental illness, the VIA-IS operationalizes mental health as the active presence of character strengths that facilitate flourishing, optimal human development, resilience, and psychological vitality.

In applied and clinical settings, the VIA-IS serves as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool for identifying an individual’s distinct profile of strengths, with particular emphasis on their “signature strengths”—those positive characteristics that a person owns, celebrates, and frequently exercises with a sense of authenticity and intrinsic motivation. Identifying signature strengths allows clinical practitioners to structure positive psychotherapy interventions, bolster cognitive and behavioral coping mechanisms, mitigate depressive symptoms, and navigate existential transitions. Instead of focusing solely on symptom reduction, clinicians employ VIA-IS profiles to help clients leverage existing moral and cognitive assets to overcome psychological distress, navigate relationship conflicts, and develop psychological resilience.

In organizational and industrial contexts, the VIA-IS is widely utilized to assess workplace engagement, job crafting, leadership styles, and team dynamics. Empirical research consistently demonstrates that employees who actively utilize their signature strengths within their professional roles report higher job satisfaction, decreased burnout, heightened productivity, and a greater sense of organizational citizenship. In academic and educational settings, the assessment facilitates strengths-based education, providing educators and school psychologists with normative data to enhance student self-efficacy, academic persistence, and socio-emotional competence.

5. Psychological Construct

The VIA classification conceptualizes character as a multidimensional, hierarchical construct composed of moral virtues, character strengths, and situational themes. Virtues represent core universal characteristics valued across historical epochs and world cultures. Character strengths represent the psychological processes or mechanisms through which these virtues are manifested and enacted. Situational themes (not directly assessed by the VIA-IS) represent idiosyncratic habits or context-specific behaviors through which character strengths are expressed. The VIA-IS operationalizes 24 distinct character strengths clustered under six overarching virtues:

Virtue I: Wisdom and Knowledge

This virtue captures cognitive strengths that entail the acquisition and adaptive application of information and knowledge to navigate life’s complexities.

• Creativity [originality, ingenuity]: Thinking of novel, adaptive, and productive ways to conceptualize and solve problems; artistic expression and practical innovation.
• Curiosity [interest, novelty-seeking, openness to experience]: Taking an active interest in ongoing experience for its own sake; finding subjects and topics fascinating; exploring and discovering new phenomena.
• Judgment [critical thinking, open-mindedness]: Examining problems thoroughly and evaluating evidence from all sides; not jumping to premature conclusions; being willing to change one’s mind in light of new evidence.
• Love of Learning: Mastering new skills, topics, and bodies of knowledge, whether systematically in formal settings or independently through self-directed study.
• Perspective [wisdom]: Being able to provide wise counsel to others; possessing a coherent way of looking at the world that makes sense to oneself and to other people.

Virtue II: Courage

Courage denotes emotional strengths that involve the exercise of will to accomplish goals in the face of internal or external opposition, adversity, or threat.

• Bravery [valor]: Not shrinking from threat, challenge, difficulty, or pain; speaking up for what is right even if there is opposition; acting on moral conviction regardless of personal popularity.
• Perseverance [persistence, industriousness]: Finishing what one begins; persisting in a course of action despite obstacles, frustration, or fatigue; taking pleasure in completing tasks.
• Honesty [authenticity, integrity]: Speaking the truth and presenting oneself in a genuine and authentic manner; acting without pretense and taking personal responsibility for one’s actions and feelings.
• Zest [vitality, enthusiasm, vigor, energy]: Approaching life with excitement and energy; not doing things halfway or halfheartedly; living life as an adventure and feeling fully alive.

Virtue III: Humanity

Humanity encompasses interpersonal strengths that involve tending, befriending, and nurturing supportive relationships with other people.

• Love [capacity to love and be loved]: Valuing close, intimate relations with others, especially those in which sharing, caring, and emotional reciprocation are primary.
• Kindness [generosity, nurturance, care, compassion, altruistic love]: Doing favors and good deeds for others; helping people in need; expressing proactive concern for the welfare of others.
• Social Intelligence [emotional intelligence, personal intelligence]: Being aware of the motives and feelings of other people and oneself; knowing what to do to fit into different social situations; understanding what makes other people tick.

Virtue IV: Justice

Justice reflects civic strengths that underlie healthy community life, equitable societal relations, and responsible citizenship.

• Teamwork [citizenship, social responsibility, loyalty]: Working well as a member of a group or team; being loyal to the collective; doing one’s fair share of group responsibilities.
• Fairness: Treating all people according to notions of equity and justice; not letting personal feelings bias decisions about others; giving everyone a fair opportunity.
• Leadership: Encouraging a group of which one is a member to get things done while maintaining good relations within the collective; organizing group activities and ensuring they occur harmoniously.

Virtue V: Temperance

Temperance encompasses strengths that protect against excess, regulate appetites, and buffer against impulsive behavior.

• Forgiveness [mercy]: Forgiving those who have committed offenses or wronged one; accepting the shortcomings of others; giving people a second chance; not being vengeful.
• Humility [modesty]: Letting one’s accomplishments speak for themselves; not regarding oneself as more special than one is; acknowledging mistakes and limitations.
• Prudence: Being careful about one’s choices; not taking undue risks; not saying or doing things that might later be regretted; maintaining long-term goal orientations.
• Self-Regulation [self-control]: Regulating what one feels and does; being disciplined; controlling one’s appetites, emotional reactions, and behavioral impulses.

Virtue VI: Transcendence

Transcendence captures strengths that forge connections to the larger universe, foster coherent meaning, and anchor individual purpose.

• Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence [awe, wonder, elevation]: Noticing and appreciating beauty, excellence, and skilled performance across all domains of life, from nature to art, mathematics, science, and everyday experiences.
• Gratitude: Being aware of and thankful for the good things that happen; taking time to express thanks; maintaining an orientation of appreciation.
• Hope [optimism, future-mindedness, future orientation]: Expecting the best in the future and working to achieve it; believing that a positive future is something that can be brought about through directed effort.
• Humor [playfulness]: Liking to laugh and tease; bringing smiles to other people; seeing the light side of life; not taking oneself overly seriously.
• Spirituality [faith, purpose, religiousness]: Having coherent beliefs about the higher purpose and meaning of the universe; knowing where one fits within the larger scheme; having beliefs that shape actions and provide comfort.

6. Theoretical Framework

The theoretical bedrock of the VIA-IS is established upon the Values in Action classification codified by Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman (2004) in their landmark volume, Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification. This theoretical model departs markedly from standard personality trait taxonomies, such as the Five-Factor Model (FFM; McCrae & Costa, 1987), by deliberately incorporating an explicit moral and philosophical dimension. While traditional trait psychology historically maintained an intentionally non-evaluative stance toward personality traits, Peterson and Seligman argued that character cannot be divorced from moral valuation.

To identify the foundational virtues and strengths without succumbing to cultural ethnocentrism or historical parochialism, the research team conducted an extensive multi-year cross-cultural historical survey. They reviewed philosophical, ethical, theological, and literary canons spanning three millennia, analyzing traditions such as Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, ancient Greek philosophy (notably Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics and Plato’s Republic), Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, alongside contemporary literature and popular culture. Remarkable cross-cultural convergence emerged regarding six master virtues: Wisdom, Courage, Humanity, Justice, Temperance, and Transcendence.

To delineate the specific character strengths underlying these virtues, Peterson and Seligman formulated twelve strict theoretical criteria. To be included in the classification, a candidate strength had to satisfy the following requirements:

1. Ubiquity: The strength must be recognized and valued across almost all contemporary and historical cultures.
2. Fulfilling: The exercise of the strength contributes directly to individual flourishing, life satisfaction, and subjective well-being.
3. Morally Valued: The trait is valued in its own right, not merely as a means to an instrumental end.
4. Non-Diminishing: Manifesting the strength does not diminish, demean, or burden others, but instead inspires and elevates onlookers.
5. Non-Felicitous Opposite: The strength must have obvious antonyms that are undesirable or maladaptive, rather than positive alternatives.
6. Trait-Like: The strength is a stable, persistent individual difference that manifests across diverse situations over time.
7. Measurable: The construct can be operationalized and measured reliably through self-report, peer report, or behavioral indicators.
8. Distinctiveness: The strength is conceptually and empirically distinct from other strengths in the taxonomy.
9. Paragons: The strength is strikingly embodied in certain individuals (role models, historical figures, or cultural paragons).
10. Prodigies: The strength is manifest in precocious children or young individuals prior to formal moral education.
11. Selective Absence: There exist individuals who exhibit an absolute or selective absence of the strength.
12. Institutional Support: Societal rituals, customs, and civic institutions exist that are designed to cultivate and sustain the strength.

The resulting framework integrates Aristotelian virtue ethics with modern psychological measurement theory. Character is theorized not as a monolithic construct, but as a dynamic profile of distinct, malleable competencies that can be cultivated, regulated, and applied across vocational, educational, and interpersonal domains.

7. Validity

The validity of the VIA-IS has been evaluated across extensive global research cohorts, establishing compelling evidence for its construct, convergent, discriminant, and criterion-related validity.

Construct and Structural Validity

Construct validity is evidenced by the scale’s sensitivity to meaningful demographic and developmental variations. Large-scale international studies (e.g., Linley et al., 2007; McGrath, 2014) demonstrate consistent, cross-culturally replicable sex differences across specific strengths: females systematically report significantly higher mean levels of kindness, love, gratitude, and social intelligence, whereas males report moderately higher levels of bravery and creativity. Furthermore, developmental cross-sectional comparisons reveal that strengths associated with temperance and wisdom (such as perspective, prudence, forgiveness, and self-regulation) show predictable maturation curves, demonstrating modest positive correlations with chronological age.

Convergent and Discriminant Validity

The convergent validity of the VIA-IS has been extensively demonstrated through associations with alternative psychological metrics. Park, Peterson, and Seligman (2004) observed that specific character strengths—specifically hope, zest, gratitude, curiosity, and love—demonstrate robust, positive correlations with the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), displaying correlation coefficients frequently ranging from r = .30 to r = .60. Strengths belonging to the Transcendence and Courage virtues consistently predict positive affect and subjective vitality.

Investigating the interface between character strengths and standard personality taxonomies, Macdonald et al. (2008) examined the relationship between the VIA-IS and the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R). The character strengths exhibited significant, conceptually congruent correlations with the Big Five traits: Humanity strengths correlated strongly with Extraversion and Agreeableness (e.g., love with Agreeableness, r > .50); Wisdom strengths correlated with Openness to Experience (curiosity and creativity, r > .60); and Temperance strengths (particularly prudence and self-regulation) correlated strongly with Conscientiousness (r > .55). Importantly, discriminant validity is demonstrated by the finding that character strengths explain incremental variance in psychological well-being, life satisfaction, and coping efficacy above and beyond that explained by the Big Five personality traits alone.

Criterion-Related and Predictive Validity

The VIA-IS exhibits substantial predictive utility across educational, vocational, and clinical contexts. In educational research, perseverance, love of learning, and self-regulation consistently predict objective academic achievement, grade point averages, and standardized test performance, independent of general cognitive ability (Duckworth & Seligman, 2005). In occupational settings, the deployment of signature character strengths predicts objective work performance, vocational engagement, organizational citizenship behaviors, and reduced burnout (Harzer & Ruch, 2013). Clinically, higher composite scores across character strengths correlate inversely with depressive symptomatology, generalized anxiety, and suicidal ideation, while actively predicting post-traumatic growth following severe life adversity.

8. Reliability

The psychometric reliability of the VIA-IS has been evaluated across multiple independent investigations and massive internet-based normative cohorts managed by the VIA Institute on Character.

Internal Consistency Reliability

Across the 24 individual subscales, internal consistency reliability coefficients are exceptionally robust. Peterson and Seligman (2004) originally reported that Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for all 24 subscales exceeded α = .70, with the vast majority exceeding α = .75. In subsequent psychometric examinations using normative samples exceeding 100,000 international participants, McGrath (2014) and Ruch et al. (2010) observed alpha coefficients ranging from .71 (for subscales such as Prudence) to .90 (for subscales such as Spirituality). The median subscale reliability typically centers around α = .81. The composite reliability for the overall instrument systematically exceeds α = .83 to .90, demonstrating uniform item-total correlations across the designated scale dimensions.

Test-Retest Stability

Because character strengths are theorized as enduring traits that remain susceptible to environmental interventions and deliberate development, test-retest reliability is an essential psychometric metric. Long-term temporal stability analyses conducted over intervals ranging from one month to four months yield test-retest correlation coefficients consistently exceeding r = .70 (typically ranging between r = .72 and r = .85; Peterson & Seligman, 2004; Ruch et al., 2010). Test-retest reliability across an extended six-month interval demonstrated that strengths such as Spirituality (r > .80) and Curiosity (r > .75) exhibit remarkable temporal stability, comparable to standard personality inventories such as the NEO-PI-R or the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).

Cross-Informant and Methodological Consistency

Methodological reliability has also been substantiated through multi-trait multi-method matrices comparing self-report VIA-IS scores with collateral observer ratings (e.g., peer, spouse, and teacher evaluations). Correlations between self-ratings and informant ratings for the 24 strengths generally range from r = .40 to r = .60 (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). This level of cross-informant convergence indicates that the self-reported scores reflect verifiable behavioral tendencies observable by close associates, rather than mere self-presentation biases.

9. Factor Analysis

Although Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman originally configured the 24 character strengths under six conceptual virtues based on historical and philosophical grounds, empirical factor-analytic evaluations of the VIA-IS have yielded nuanced insights into the scale’s latent structural architecture.

Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA)

Early exploratory factor analyses conducted on the subscale intercorrelations repeatedly failed to reproduce the theoretical six-virtue model. Instead, exploratory analyses consistently extract between three and five robust higher-order factors:

• The Five-Factor Structure: Peterson and Seligman (2004), followed by independent investigations by Peterson, Park, and Seligman (2006) and Ruch et al. (2010), identified a robust five-factor solution accounting for approximately 50% to 60% of the total variance:
1. Emotional/Strengths of Courage: Dominated by high factor loadings from bravery, zest, hope, and perseverance.
2. Interpersonal/Strengths of Humanity: Characterized by loadings from kindness, love, teamwork, and social intelligence.
3. Intellectual/Cognitive Strengths: Comprising curiosity, creativity, love of learning, and open-mindedness (judgment).
4. Restraint/Temperance Strengths: Loaded substantially by prudence, self-regulation, forgiveness, and humility.
5. Theological/Transcendence Strengths: Anchored by spirituality, gratitude, and appreciation of beauty and excellence.
• The Three-Factor Structure: In a comprehensive item- and scale-level factor analysis of 458,382 respondents across 75 nations, McGrath (2014) revealed that a hierarchical three-factor model demonstrated exceptional stability across divergent cultural, language, and national contexts:
1. Caring (Interpersonal virtues): Encompassing strengths of humanity and justice (e.g., kindness, love, fairness, teamwork).
2. Inquisitiveness (Intellectual virtues): Encompassing strengths of wisdom and knowledge (e.g., curiosity, creativity, perspective, love of learning).
3. Self-Control (Restraint virtues): Encompassing strengths of temperance and conscientiousness (e.g., perseverance, prudence, self-regulation).

Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)

Confirmatory factor analyses testing the original theoretical 6-virtue hierarchy against empirical data have routinely documented sub-optimal fit indices (e.g., Comparative Fit Index [CFI] < .85, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation [RMSEA] > .08). However, when modern CFA models specify either the empirically derived five-factor solution or hierarchical bifactor models (where a general character factor exists alongside specific virtue clusters), psychometric fit indices improve substantially (CFI ≥ .92, TLI ≥ .90, RMSEA ≤ .055, SRMR ≤ .050). These factor-analytic findings suggest that while the 24 individual character strengths are empirically distinct and measurable, the higher-order virtue groupings represent flexible philosophical heuristic categories rather than strictly independent latent dimensions.

10. Instrument / Measurement Tool

The operational specifications, administration protocols, and measurement metrics of the VIA-IS are structured as follows:

• Instrument Designation: Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS; also known in revised variations as the VIA-120 and VIA-72).
• Primary Developer / Copyright Holder: Christopher Peterson, Ph.D., Martin E. P. Seligman, Ph.D., and the VIA Institute on Character.
• Assessment Type: Standardized, normative, self-report psychological rating scale.
• Target Population: Adults aged 18 years and older (a specialized adolescent variant, the VIA-Youth, is normed for individuals aged 10 to 17).
• Item Count: 240 items in the full-length baseline inventory (precisely 10 items dedicated to each of the 24 character strengths).
• Administration Time: Approximately 30 to 45 minutes for self-paced electronic administration.
• Item Presentation: Individual self-referential behavioral and cognitive declarative statements (e.g., “I am always curious about the world”).
• Response Scale: 5-point Likert rating scale configured as follows:
  • 1 = Very much unlike me
  • 2 = Unlike me
  • 3 = Neutral
  • 4 = Like me
  • 5 = Very much like me
• Scoring and Result Aggregation:
  • Raw scores for each subscale are calculated by computing the arithmetic mean across the corresponding 10 items (subscale score range: 1.00 to 5.00), accounting for reverse-coded validation items where applicable.
  • Subscales are subsequently rank-ordered from highest mean score (Rank 1: most prominent character strength) to lowest mean score (Rank 24: least prominent character strength).
  • The top four to seven ranked character strengths are operationalized as an individual’s “Signature Strengths.”
  • Because character strengths represent intrinsic individual assets rather than pathological indices, normative scoring does not emphasize pathology cutoffs, but rather individual intra-profile rank ordering.

11. Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The VIA Inventory of Strengths was officially standardized and released to the scientific and clinical community in 2004 following the publication of the foundational reference volume by Christopher Peterson and Martin Seligman.

Regarding accessibility, usage rights, and operational licensing:

• Public and Personal Accessibility: The VIA-IS is hosted electronically by the VIA Institute on Character. The instrument is made accessible free of charge for individual assessment, self-exploration, and personal educational use via their centralized digital platform.
• Academic and Scientific Research: Academic researchers, graduate students, and university faculties can register research projects through the VIA Institute on Character to utilize the digital testing engine and access anonymized data matrices free of charge or via nominal administrative setup fees.
• Commercial and Organizational Application: Practitioners utilizing the VIA-IS for executive coaching, business consulting, corporate talent development, or organizational workshops are subject to professional licensing guidelines and fee-per-report structures administered by the VIA Institute on Character.
• Reproduction and Republication: The complete 240-item scale, item wording, and proprietary algorithms are protected under international copyright law. Complete item batteries may not be reprinted, reproduced in published articles, hosted on external web servers, or translated into foreign languages without formal written permission and licensing agreements executed with the VIA Institute on Character.

12. References

Duckworth, A. L., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2005). Self-discipline outdoes IQ in predicting academic performance of adolescents. Psychological Science, 16(12), 939–944. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01641.x

Harzer, C., & Ruch, W. (2013). The application of signature character strengths and positive experiences at work. Journal of Happiness Studies, 14(3), 965–983. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-012-9364-0

LaFollette, A. M. (2010). The Values in Action Inventory of Strengths: A test summary and critique. Graduate Journal of Counseling Psychology, 2(1), Article 3. https://epublications.marquette.edu/gjcp/vol2/iss1/3

Linley, P. A., Maltby, J., Wood, A. M., Joseph, S., Harrington, S., Peterson, C., & Park, N. (2007). Character strengths in the United Kingdom: The VIA Inventory of Strengths. Personality and Individual Differences, 43(2), 341–351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2006.12.004

Lopez, S. J., & Snyder, C. R. (Eds.). (2011). The Oxford handbook of positive psychology (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195187243.001.0001

Macdonald, C., Bore, M., & Munro, D. (2008). Values in action scale and the Big 5: An empirical examination of factor structure and construct validity. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 3(2), 120–131. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760701751079

McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T., Jr. (1987). Validation of the five-factor model of personality across instruments and observers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(1), 81–90. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.52.1.81

McGrath, R. E. (2014). Scale- and item-level factor analyses of the VIA Inventory of Strengths. Assessment, 21(1), 4–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191112450612

Niemiec, R. M. (2013). VIA character strengths: Research and practice (The first 10 years). In H. H. Knoop & A. Delle Fave (Eds.), Well-being and cultures: Perspectives on positive psychology (pp. 11–30). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4611-4_2

Park, N., Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Strengths of character and well-being. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23(5), 603–619. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.23.5.603.50748

Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. American Psychological Association & Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195167016.001.0001

Peterson, C., Park, N., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2006). Greater strengths of character and recovery from illness. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 1(1), 17–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760500372739

Ruch, W., Proyer, R. T., Harzer, C., Park, N., Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2010). Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS): Adaptation and validation of the German version and the development of a peer-rating form. Journal of Individual Differences, 31(3), 138–149. https://doi.org/10.1027/1614-0001/a000022

VIA Institute on Character. (2017). Guidelines and permission for use of VIA assessment tools. https://www.viacharacter.org/about-institute/guidelines-and-permission-for-use

13. Items of the Scale