Psychological virtues during adolescence: A longitudinal study of gender differences

Abstract

Adolescence is a key stage in terms of character formation, and it is important to study positive aspects such as character strengths and virtues by means of longitudinal studies. To this end, this study uses longitudinal methodology to analyse character virtues over three consecutive years during adolescence. Participants were 282 school students, whose mean age at the first measurement point was 12.10 years. Results show that character virtues remain relatively stable between the ages of 12 and 14 years, with a slight increase over time in scores on humanity and justice. Girls scored higher than boys on all six virtues analysed, and this trend was maintained over time. The paper discusses these findings and their possible implications for achieving optimal psychological development in adolescence.