Beyond Adversities: Character Strengths of Filipino Senior High School Students

Recognizing and developing strengths in individuals contribute to making life more worth living. Human services particularly the counseling profession is not just about fixing deficiencies but should also be about nurturing the best in people. This mixed methods research provided a profile of the character strengths of senior high school students from a private university (n=294). Using the Filipino version of the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIAIS), data revealed that the signature strengths of students were fairness, teamwork, appreciation of beauty and excellence, kindness and gratitude. Justice strengths such as fairness and teamwork were the topmost strengths implying that students are civic- oriented and contribute to a functional community. Transcendence strengths like appreciation of beauty and excellence and gratitude suggested that students give prime attention to beauty, and excellent performances and they are grateful for the things they have in life. Humanity strengths (kindness) imply that these strengths help the students in their interpersonal relationships. Furthermore, the qualitative responses of 15 senior high school students who were referred for counseling were analyzed to explore the manifestations of character strengths in their coping strategy. Thematic analysis revealed the character strengths of appreciation of beauty, hope, perspective, love, self-regulation and religiousness/ spirituality. Implications of the findings in school counseling programs and interventions were discussed.