The Role of Character Strengths in Employment Among People With Multiple Sclerosis

Although prior research has looked at clinical factors impacting employment among people with multiple sclerosis (MS); to our knowledge, there is no research looking at the role of character strengths in enhancing employment outcomes in this population. The purpose of the study is twofold: (a) examine the differences on character strengths profile between employed people with MS and those who were unemployed, and (b) explore whether higher scores on character strengths are associated with higher chance of being employed. Findings demonstrated that there were significant differences between the following character strengths between the employed group and the unemployed group, including judgment/critical thinking strength, perspective/wisdom strength, perseverance strength, zest strength, social intelligence strength, teamwork strength, leadership strength, self-regulation strength, and hope strength. There was also a significant difference in the total character strengths score between the employed and unemployed group. The final hierarchical logistic regression model explained 7% of the variance in employment. Higher levels of character strengths were associated with an increased probability of being employed. The study provided preliminary evidence on the character strengths profile employed and unemployed people with MS, and the association between character strengths and employment among people with MS. This suggested the potential utility of integrating character strengths interventions in promoting vocational outcomes.