The New Mental Health: Science Says Start with a Character Test

New study provides further support for the dual-role of character strengths for mental health.

Which do you agree with more?

1. Mental health is the absence of depression, anxiety, and addiction; OR
2. Mental health is the presence and use of positive, strong qualities.

How about these?

1. Mental health is best measured with an inventory of mental illness, examining diseases, disabilities, and mental afflictions you might have; OR
2. Mental health is best measured with an inventory of character strengths, examining the psychological qualities strongest in you.

While these are not exactly either-or options, the pervading 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, and/or the treatment of these conditions. By this view, the better management of these problems thereby equals better 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% of people have a mental illness (according to U.S. data by the National Institute of Mental Health, 2022). So where is the “health” part of mental health? It is typically forgotten or underplayed.

The truth is there is much to uncover in our psyche about what is going well, is strong, is resilient – in other words, what is going right for people. This applies not only to the majority who do not have a mental illness, but also applies to those who do, as science has found that regardless of the gradations of mental afflictions, people have the capacities for flourishing (Keyes, 2002).

A New Language for Mental Health

Enter: The rigorously studied VIA Classification of character strengths.

A science of character strengths has exploded in the last 20 years amassing over 1,000 peer-reviewed studies (Feraco & 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. If we multiply these 3 basic psychological dimensions across 24 universal character strengths, we have 72 possible, psychological tools by which to generate greater mental health. After reviewing hundreds of studies and conducting numerous studies in character strengths, I put forth the theoretical argument for the dual-role of character strengths as central pathways for both well-being/opportunity AND for adversity/suffering (Niemiec, 2020); and 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 character strengths evidence for happiness and well-being and for better outcomes for anxiety, stress, depression, and among clinical populations (Casali & 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 the VIA Inventory of Strengths (VIA Survey). 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 the VIA Survey? Or are character strengths only beneficial if the person uses them repeatedly in a specific context or follows a particular strengths intervention/program?

We didn’t want to trigger a biased sample, such as only asking people who are enthusiastic about strengths or a recency bias asking participants soon after they complete the measure. Thus, we randomly sent a set of impact questions to individuals who had taken the VIA Survey between one month and six months previously (technically 33 days to 167 days post-VIA Survey). This was determined in order to offer enough time for impact to be noticed and also allow for the possibility that the test would merely fade from memory. We offered 20 Visa gift cards at $50 each in order to equally appeal to the full scope of people regardless of interest level or engagement level in strengths.

Our final sample contained 3,379 participants (McGrath, Mayerson, Niemiec, & Umucu, 2025). A snapshot summary of the participant demographics was as follows:

• 52% were aged 18-34
• 59% bachelor’s degree or higher
• 67% Female
• 37% White; 13% Asian
• 43% employed full-time; 27% students
• Country: U.S. (45%); Australia/Canada/UK (20%); India/Mexico (5%); Others (30%)

While weighted toward females and college educated from Western countries, all major continents were represented. The average number of days post-VIA Survey for participants to answer the research questions was 3 months. We found the number of months post VIA Survey – 1, 3, 5, etc. – was irrelevant in terms of the results. Said another way, the findings noted in this article sustained.

Because a large percentage of the sample was students, we re-analyzed the data omitting students. This did not reveal any meaningful changes to the outcomes.

The Findings

In combining responses of agree/strongly agree (and disagree/strongly disagree), the participants in this sample expressed the following as a response to having taken the VIA Survey about 3 months in the past:

83% - Strengths discovery is meaningful

• The experience of discovering my character strengths with the VIA Survey was meaningful to me.
• 2% Disagree

74% - More self-awareness

• Since taking the VIA Survey, I feel more self-aware about my strengths and how they shape who I am.
• 4% Disagree

62% - Strengths confidence

• Since taking the VIA Survey, I feel more confident using my strengths in daily life.
• 6% Disagree

62% - Manage problems

• Since taking the VIA Survey, I feel more capable of handling challenges / problems using my strengths.
• 7% Disagree

63% - Shift toward the good

• Since completing the VIA Survey, I have noticed a positive shift in how I think about myself and my strengths.
• 7% Disagree

54% - More optimism

• Since taking the VIA Survey, I feel more optimistic or positive about life.
• 8% Disagree

50% - More grateful

• Since taking the VIA Survey, I feel more grateful for life.
• 9% Disagree

49% - More well-being

• My current overall well-being is higher than it was before I took the VIA Survey.
• 10% Disagree

These results suggest not only a lingering effect, but a strong effect, in taking the VIA Survey. In other words, “taking the VIA Survey” is a positive and impactful intervention in and of itself. While a myriad of randomized-controlled trials have shown that participants can experience the dual-role benefits of flourishing and depression from taking action by using character strengths in novel ways (see meta-analysis by Schutte & Malouf, 2019), these results suggest that benefits can arise from even simpler action.

One of the researchers and the chairman of the nonprofit organization, the VIA Institute, Neal Mayerson, observed:

As more than 3 million people take the VIA Survey each year, the data above suggest that 1.8 million people per year are positively affected to use their character strengths and adopt more positive thinking in their life, while 1.5 million gain greater well-being, optimism, and gratitude. I wonder how many other mental health providers in the world directly impact the mental health of nearly 2 million people per year?

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 (e.g., Proyer et al., 2013). The connection here aligns with this prior research.

In order to understand the context for strengths use since taking the VIA 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%)
• In improving overall well-being (35%)
• In managing stress or challenges (34%)
• In relationships with family/friends (33%)
• In making decisions (33%)
• NOT applied strengths more intentionally (20%)

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 (e.g., 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 (e.g., Harzer et al. 2021; Meyers et al., 2019).

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

The top 5 actions participants reported:

• 56% - Reflected on character strengths & application
• 40% - Discussed character strengths with a close other
• 18% - Pursued learning by books/articles
• 17% - Worked with a professional
• 17% - Created a regular character strengths practice

Self-reflection is an important component of professional growth (Bailey & Rehman, 2022), and 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 your 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).

Conclusions

• Considering the VIA Survey was the only intervention in this study, these results show the VIA Survey (i.e., taking a validated strengths test) is a strong positive intervention, in and of itself.
• There are a variety of positive impacts that unfold for people over the weeks, after taking the VIA Survey.
• The discovery of character strengths is a particularly MEANINGFUL experience.
• The dual-role benefit is clear with taking the VIA Survey – it is helpful for adversity and for well-being areas.
• Character strengths are natural psychological characteristics; they occupy thinking, feeling, and behavior. We can behaviorally activate to amplify these critical aspects of our mental health.