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20 Years of Character Strengths: A Bibliometric Review

Author

Listed:
  • Tommaso Feraco

    (University of Padova)

  • Nicole Casali

    (Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime Secutirt and Law)

Abstract

Character strengths were introduced into the positive psychology literature twenty years ago. The present bibliometric analysis quantitatively summarizes the research conducted in the field so far in terms of impact and themes analyzed. We conduct performance analysis to examine the total number of publications on character strengths, their bibliometric indices, the main journals contributing to the field, and the countries involved in such knowledge accumulation and how this has changed over time. We furthermore conduct science mapping analysis using the keywords of the papers. Specifically, we describe the time-varying occurrence of specific keywords and use network and thematic mapping analyses to determine the dynamic intercorrelations among the emerging research topics. Our results show the significant and growing contribution of character strengths to the positive psychology literature and beyond, but also the need for cross-fertilization with neighboring fields. We also highlight an increasing contribution from non-WEIRD countries in recent years, which calls for in-depth cross-cultural research. Topics such as measurement and well-being appear to be well-established and integrated, while there’s an emerging interest in mental health research. Overall, the present analysis illuminates on the past, present, and upcoming trends in the field.

Suggested Citation

  • Tommaso Feraco & Nicole Casali, 2025. "20 Years of Character Strengths: A Bibliometric Review," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 1-22, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:26:y:2025:i:3:d:10.1007_s10902-025-00869-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s10902-025-00869-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Donthu, Naveen & Kumar, Satish & Mukherjee, Debmalya & Pandey, Nitesh & Lim, Weng Marc, 2021. "How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 285-296.
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    6. Nicole Casali & Silvia Filippi & Tommaso Feraco, 2024. "Does Inequality Shape Human Character? Cross-Cultural Associations between Character Strengths and the Gini Index in 68 Countries," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 25(4), pages 1-17, April.
    7. Juan Zhang & Qi Yu & Fashan Zheng & Chao Long & Zuxun Lu & Zhiguang Duan, 2016. "Comparing keywords plus of WOS and author keywords: A case study of patient adherence research," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 67(4), pages 967-972, April.
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    10. Tommaso Feraco & Nicole Casali & Chiara Meneghetti & Samuel Greiff & Giorgia Cona, 2023. "Is Good Character All that Counts? A Comparison Between the Predictive Role of Specific Strengths and a General Factor of “Good Character” Using a Bifactor Model," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(7), pages 2353-2376, October.
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