The role of character strengths in adolescent romantic relationships: an initial study on partner selection and mates' life satisfaction

Abstract

The present study investigated the role of 24 character strengths in 87 adolescent romantic relationships focusing on their role in partner selection and their role in mates' life satisfaction. Measures included the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths for Youth, the Students' Life Satisfaction Scale, and an Ideal Partner Profiler for the composition of an ideal partner. Honesty, humor, and love were the most preferred character strengths in an ideal partner. Hope, religiousness, honesty, and fairness showed the most substantial assortment coefficients. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed targets' character strengths as explaining variance in targets' life satisfaction. Furthermore, to a lesser degree, specific character strengths of partners and couples' similarity in certain character strengths explained variance in targets' life satisfaction beyond targets' character strengths. This first research on this topic showed that character strengths play a significant role in adolescent romantic relationships.