The values in action character strengths model: A resource for people in addiction recovery

The purpose of this study is to examine the Values in Action character strengths profile of people in addiction recovery, in order to identify which strengths are meaningfully represented in this population. This was compared with the generalised profile of a normative population to identify the differentiating features. Reasons for the profile variance and the significance this has for addiction recovery have also been explored. An independent group design was adopted using purposive sampling. This saw participants (n=100) complete the Values in Action assessment (VIA-IS-P) to establish a character strengths profile for people in addiction recovery. To identify the differences in this profile, a mean score and rank order comparison was conducted, using data taken from a normative population. Additional exploratory analysis was conducted to establish if there were any significant differences in the character strength profile of males and females. In descending order, the top five ranked strengths were kindness, humour, honesty, fairness, and teamwork. The lesser five strengths in the profile were spirituality, zest, perseverance, prudence, and self-regulation. A distinguishing feature was the presence of humour as a top five strength for people in addiction recovery. The existence of teamwork also deviated from the generalised normative population. There were two strengths shown to have a meaningfully higher score for females, teamwork, and love. This did not change the strengths present in the overall top five for males or females, however. This study contributes useful knowledge to the understanding of character strengths in addiction recovery. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time character strengths have been examined in a sample of people in addiction recovery