Which statement do you agree with more?

1. Mental health is the absence of depression, anxiety, and addiction. It is best measured with an inventory of mental illness.
2. Mental health is the presence and use of strong, positive qualities. It is best measured with an inventory of character strengths.

While these are not exactly either-or options, the prevailing perspective in the social sciences has been to think of mental health in terms of depression, anxiety, and psychological disorders—whether it be the assessment, diagnosis, or treatment of these conditions. By this view, the better management of these problems thereby equals improved mental health. This is indeed part of the equation of our psychological landscape, but it is a relatively small part.

Consider that just over 20 percent of people have a mental illness (according to U.S. data by the National Institute of Mental Health, 2022). Where is the “health” part of mental health? It is typically forgotten or underplayed.

A New Language for Mental Health

Our rigorously studied VIA classification of character strengths can help.

A science of character strengths has exploded in the last 20 years, amassing over 1,000 peer-reviewed studies (Feraco and Casali, 2025), a free scientific measurement tool with over 35 million takers (VIA Institute, 2025), and tens of thousands of global practitioners applying character strengths interventions in their contexts (Niemiec, 2018).

Character strengths, at their essence, are our mental health. They are capacities for thinking, feeling, and behaving; we can think curious and hopeful thoughts, have grateful and loving feelings, and take action in brave or fair ways. After reviewing hundreds of studies and conducting numerous studies on character strengths, I put forth the theoretical argument for the dual role of character strengths as central pathways for both well-being and opportunity and for adversity and suffering (Niemiec, 2020); I also conducted research delineating components of this connection for mental health (Niemiec, 2023).

Moreover, a recent meta-analysis provided further support for the dual role, showing strong evidence of character strengths in relation to happiness and well-being, as well as better outcomes for anxiety, stress, depression, and among clinical populations (Casali and Feraco, 2025).

A New Study on Taking a Positive Test

For nearly two decades, I’ve listened to people across the six major continents as they shared their surprise, healthy pride, excitement, and personal benefits in taking positive assessment measures, especially our inventory of strengths. As striking as the reports from managers, teachers, coaches, counselors, and the general public were, it was anecdotal evidence. What is the scientific benefit of taking a validated positive test on character strengths?

My colleagues and I, led by the curiosity of Neal Mayerson and the science chops of Robert McGrath and Emre Umucu, wondered about this question—specifically, is there any impact after people take our survey? Or are character strengths only beneficial if the person uses them repeatedly in a specific context or follows a particular strengths intervention or program?

Our final sample contained 3,379 participants (McGrath, Mayerson, Niemiec, and Umucu, 2025). While weighted toward females and the college-educated from Western countries, all major continents were represented.

The Findings

• 83 percent — Strengths discovery is meaningful; 2 percent — Disagree
• 74 percent — More self-awareness; 4 percent — Disagree
• 62 percent — Strengths confidence; 6 percent — Disagree
• 62 percent — Manage problems; 7 percent — Disagree
• 63 percent — Shift toward the good; 7 percent — Disagree
• 54 percent — More optimism; 8 percent — Disagree
• 50 percent — More grateful; 9 percent — Disagree
• 49 percent — More well-being; 10 percent — Disagree

These results suggest not only a lingering effect but also a strong effect of taking our survey. Taking the survey is a positive and effective intervention in and of itself.

Next, we looked at the 24 universal character strengths to understand connections with the outcome areas mentioned. The character strengths with the highest mean correlations across all the variables were (starting with the highest):

1. Hope
2. Gratitude
3. Zest
4. Spirituality
5. Teamwork
6. Leadership
7. Social intelligence
8. Curiosity
9. Self-Regulation

Many of these strengths, such as hope, zest, and gratitude, are already associated with different kinds of positive experiences and have been shown to generate happiness (for example, Proyer and colleagues, 2013). The connection here aligns with this prior research.

To understand the context for strengths use since taking our survey, participants were asked if and where they have intentionally applied character strengths on their own. The following results emerged:

• In work or career (40 percent)
• In improving overall well-being (35 percent)
• In managing stress or challenges (34 percent)
• In relationships with family and friends (33 percent)
• In making decisions (33 percent)
• Not applied strengths more intentionally (20 percent)

The dual role of character strengths is evident here and put to good use for participants as they report using character strengths for benefits relating to well-being and stress, and use in different contexts (career, relationships, decision-making). Consistent with the character strengths literature, the workplace context emerged as a dominant setting of application (Niemiec & Pearce, 2021). This reflects the substantial importance and potential of strengths use for the dual-role benefit for well-being and adversity extending to the workplace (for example, Harzer and colleagues, 2021; Meyers and colleagues, 2019).

Finally, we wanted to know what participants were intuitively doing after they took our survey. These actions could explain some of the effects from the survey; however, we did not scientifically investigate variables that connected the action of taking the positive assessment and later experiencing dual-role benefits.

The top five actions participants reported:

• 56 percent — Reflected on character strengths and application
• 40 percent — Discussed character strengths with a close other
• 18 percent — Pursued learning by books or articles
• 17 percent — Worked with a professional
• 17 percent — Created a regular character strengths practice

Self-reflection is an important component of professional growth (Bailey and Rehman, 2022), and it is a strong starting point for participants who see a list of their best qualities and are left to consider: Now what do I do with this information? How might I apply them in my work and home life?

The second most common action, discussing character strengths with family and friends, is a popular avenue for growth. Friends and significant others can offer reinforcement of our character strengths, share insights, and provide a lens that we often do not take time to see due to our own introspection illusion (Pronin, 2009).

Conclusion

Considering our survey was the only intervention in this study, these results indicate that the survey (taking a validated strengths test) is a strong, positive intervention in and of itself.