The place of disability in positive psychology research contexts
Keywords:
Positive Psychology, Disability, Character StrengthsAbstract
This article seeks to highlight the position of positive psychology, which provides an empirical conceptual foundation for the study of what makes life worth living. This perspective has contributed to the emergence of new waves of research examining the diverse experiences of individuals across different groups, including individuals with disabilities. Accordingly, this line of research offers an alternative perspective to traditional theories of disability by emphasizing how the principles of positive psychology can be applied to various categories of disability, thereby enhancing collective awareness of the lived experiences of these individuals. The analytical descriptive approach was employed to examine the position of disability within the framework of the psychology of character strengths, in alignment with contemporary trends in positive psychology that aim to strengthen pathways of psychological empowerment and to build aspects of personal immunization. This approach is grounded in the findings of international studies that seek to identify indicators of flourishing and advancement across multiple categories of disability.
Downloads
References
Ahmed, S. (2009). Religiosity and presence of character strengths in American Muslim youth. Journal of Muslim Mental Health, 4(2), 104–123. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564900903245642
Al-Awfi, F. (2015). Practical values among educational leaders in boys’ and girls’ schools in Taif city (Unpublished master’s thesis). Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia.
Bachene, H., & Ben Aichouba, B. (2023). Fundamentals of Positive Education : From the theory of Authentic Happiness to the PERMA model of Well-Being. Journal of Studies in Deviance Psychology, 8(1), 616–634. https://www.asjp.cerist.dz/en/article/222033
Bachene, H., Berrazouane, H., & Ben Aichouba, B. (2022). Character Strengths And Human Virtues As Base Ingredients In Building A Positive Personality The Scientific Explorations Of Positive Psychology (1st ed.). Algiers, Algeria: Kunooz Al-Hikma Publishing and Distribution.
Ben Azzouzi, I. (2019). Psychological resilience among individuals with disabilities from the perspective of positive psychology. Journal of Social Sciences Development, 12(2), 159–172. https://www.asjp.cerist.dz/en/article/107509
Gustems-Carnicer, J., & Calderon, C. (2014). Character strengths and psychological wellbeing among students of teacher education. International Journal of Educational Psychology, 3(3), 265–286. http://dx.doi.org/10.4471/ijep.2014.14
Hanks, R. A., Rapport, L. J., Waldron-Perrine, B., & Millis, S. R. (2014). Role of character strengths in outcome after mild complicated to severe traumatic brain injury: A positive psychology study. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 95(11), 2096–2102. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2014.06.017
Hong, Z. Y., & Yan, C. M. (2018). Character strengths, strengths use, future self-continuity and subjective well-being among Chinese university students. Frontiers in Psychology, 9(1040), 1–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01040
Kannangara, C. S., Carson, J., Puttaraju, S., & Allen, R. E. (2018). Not all those who wander are lost: Examining the character strengths of dyslexia. Global Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 4(5), 86–93. https://juniperpublishers.com/gjidd/pdf/GJIDD.MS.ID.555648.pdf
Kirchner, J., Ruch, W., & Dziobek, I. (2016). Brief report: Character strengths in adults with autism spectrum disorder without intellectual impairment. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46(10), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2865-7
Lounsbury, J. W., Fisher, L. A., Levy, J. J., & Welsh, D. P. (2009). An investigation of character strengths in relation to the academic success of college students. Individual Differences Research, 7(1), 52–69. http://www.realizingaptitudes.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/An-investigation-of-character-strengths-in-relation-to-the-academic-success-of-college-students.pdf
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.
Niemiec, R. M. (2017). Character strengths interventions: A field guide for practitioners (Ed.). Hogrefe Publishing.
Niemiec, R. M., & Tomasulo, D. (2023). Character strengths and abilities within disabilities: Advances in science and practice (Ed.). USA: Springer Nature.
Niemiec, R. M., Shogren, K. A., & Wehmeyer, M. L. (2017). Character strengths and intellectual and developmental disability: A strengths-based approach from positive psychology. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 52(1), 13–25.
Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2009). Character strengths: Research and practice. Journal of College and Character, 10(4), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.2202/1940-1639.1042
Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification (Ed.). USA: Oxford University Press.
Saldaña, O., Escartín, J., Torres, L., Varela-Rey, A., Martín-Peña, J., Rodríguez-Carballeira, Á., Jiménez, Y., & Vidal, T. (2014). University students’ strengths associated with an optimal academic and professional performance. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 141, 30–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.05.008
Shogren, K. A., Shaw, L. A., Raley, S. K., Wehmeyer, M. L., Niemiec, R. M., & Adkins, M. (2018). Assessing character strengths in youth with intellectual disability: Reliability and factorial validity of the VIA-Youth. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 56(1), 13–29. https://doi.org/10.1352/1934-9556-56.1.13
Smedema, S. M. (2020). An analysis of the relationship of character strengths and quality of life in persons with multiple sclerosis. Quality of Life Research, 29, 1259–1270. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-019-02397-1
Szarkowski, A., & Brice, P. (2018). Positive psychology in research with the deaf community: An idea whose time has come. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 23(2), 111–117. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/deafed/enx058
Szarkowski, A., & Brice, P. J. (2016). Hearing parents’ appraisals of parenting a deaf or hard-of-hearing child: Application of a positive psychology framework. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 21(3), 249–258. https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/enw007
Umucu, E., Lee, B., Genova, H. M., Chopik, W. J., Sung, C., Yasuoka, M., & Niemiec, R. M. (2022). Character strengths across disabilities: An international exploratory study and implications for positive psychiatry and psychology. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13(863977), 1–11. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.863977
Umucu, E., Tansey, T. N., Brooks, J., & Lee, B. (2021). The protective role of character strengths in COVID-19 stress and well-being in individuals with chronic conditions and disabilities: An exploratory study. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 64(2), 67–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0034355220967093
VIA Institute on Character. (n.d.). Appreciation of beauty & excellence. https://www.viacharacter.org/character-strengths/appreciation-of-beauty-and-excellence
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 The International tax journal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
