Bridges over troubled water: A meta-analysis of the associations of character strengths with well-being and common mental health disorders

Character strengths are 24 morally valued personality traits that are associated with both well-being and mental health. Despite their importance, systematic evidence quantifying these associations and integrating them with basic personality frameworks is lacking. To address this gap, we synthesized evidence from 130 studies (total N = 275,007) and used previous evidence on Big Five and HEXACO traits to locate character strengths and derive corresponding expectations. Using three-level meta-analytic models, we found meaningful (r > .10) correlations with healthy functioning for all strengths except humility, with most ranging between .10 and .30. Hope (r = .52) and zest (r = .52) emerged as the strongest correlates overall, followed by gratitude (r = .43), love (r = .43), and curiosity (r = .38) for well-being, and self-regulation (r = .29), gratitude (r = .30), and love (r = .34) for common mental health disorders. Well-being outcomes showed stronger associations with strengths compared to common mental health outcomes. Overall, the present findings fit well with the existing evidence on personality and support the notion that character strengths, like personality, may promote healthy functioning. Future research should focus on understudied outcomes (e.g., domain satisfaction, anxiety, and stress) and populations (e.g., clinical populations).