Can Character Strengths Predict College Adjustment? A Study Carried Out in Nursing Students in the Argentine Republic

Abstract

The objective of the study was to analyse and develop an explanatory model of the relationship between strengths of character and adaptation to the university in nursing students from different educational institutes of the Provinces of Buenos Aires and Formosa, in its three dimensions—academic, social, and institutional. The prediction model was based on the 24 character strengths of 210 nursing students from different educational institutes of the Provinces of Buenos Aires and Formosa, aged between 20 and 55 years (M = 28.49; SD = 7.51; 76% women). The Inventory of Virtues and Strengths and the Scale of Adaptation to the University were used. Three multiple linear regression analyses were carried out, one for each dimension of university adaptation. The strengths of citizenship, hope, prudence, and social intelligence predicted the social dimension. The strengths of vitality, citizenship, and fairness predicted the institutional dimension. The strengths of prudence, spirituality, and vitality predicted the academic dimension. The results allow us to state that character strengths constitute a valuable resource for the nursing student given their role as predictors of the ability to adapt to university life.