Adolescent Strengths Use Scale

Abstract

The Adolescent Strengths Use Scale (ASUS) is a brief, psychometrically sound, self-report instrument developed to evaluate the extent to which secondary school students actively identify, deploy, and capitalize on their personal character strengths within academic and educational environments. While foundational research in positive psychology has established the psychological utility of recognizing internal strengths, contemporary empirical evidence indicates that the active behavioral application (“strengths use”) yields significantly greater benefits for psychological flourishing, resilience, and academic achievement than mere strengths knowledge. Developed by Ramazan Demir, Mehmet Murat, and Gökmen Arslan (2024), the ASUS comprises 7 unidimensional items evaluated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 5 (Strongly agree). Psychometric evaluation across Turkish adolescent samples in Grades 7 through 12 demonstrated robust internal consistency, yielding a Cronbach’s alpha of .82, McDonald’s omega of .83, a composite latent reliability of .88, and a four-week test-retest reliability coefficient of r = .88 (p < .01). Exploratory factor analysis verified a single-factor solution accounting for 49.4% of the total variance, subsequently substantiated through confirmatory factor analysis showing superior model fit (χ²/df = 2.52, CFI = .98, TLI = .96, GFI = .97, RMSEA = .06). Criterion-related validity analyses revealed significant positive associations with student subjective well-being and prosocial behavior, accompanied by significant inverse correlations with adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems. Consequently, the ASUS provides an efficient, theoretically grounded measurement tool for educational psychologists, school counselors, and developmental researchers seeking to quantify school-based strength deployment.

Keywords

Adolescent Strengths Use Scale, character strengths, positive youth development, school psychology, psychometrics, subjective well-being, educational psychology, academic resilience, positive education, strengths-based interventions

Authors

The Adolescent Strengths Use Scale was developed and validated by a team of scholars specializing in educational psychology, psychological counseling, and positive youth development:

• Ramazan Demir, Ph.D. — Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Education, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey. Primary contact: [email protected].
• Mehmet Murat, Ph.D. — Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Education, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey.
• Gökmen Arslan, Ph.D. — Department of Educational Sciences, Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Burdur, Turkey; and Centre for Wellbeing Science, Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia. ORCID: 0000-0001-9427-1554.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Adolescent Strengths Use Scale (ASUS) is to measure the behavioral frequency and cognitive-affective engagement associated with deploying personal strengths within school settings. During adolescence, individuals encounter notable developmental transitions, including neurobiological maturation, identity crystallization, heightened social evaluation, and escalating academic demands. Traditional educational and clinical paradigms historically operated under a deficit-oriented model, focusing predominantly on diagnosing learning disorders, psychopathology, or behavioral infractions. While identifying deficits remains necessary for remediation, deficit-centric assessments frequently fail to capture developmental assets, self-efficacy, and adaptive resources that shield youth from psychological distress and foster scholastic persistence.

Research across developmental and educational psychology demonstrates that mere possession or cognitive identification of character strengths is insufficient to produce systemic developmental flourishing. The catalyst for psychological well-being, academic engagement, and emotional resilience is the contextual utilization of those strengths. Prior to the construction of the ASUS, the majority of available strength-use instruments were engineered for adult workplace environments (e.g., assessing organizational performance, corporate leadership, and workplace engagement) or lacked specific contextualization to the daily academic, emotional, and social realities of secondary school students. The ASUS was designed to bridge this empirical gap by providing a targeted, developmentally calibrated, and psychometrically validated instrument specifically tailored for school-aged adolescents.

In clinical and applied educational practice, the ASUS functions as an evaluation and diagnostic tool for school counselors, educational psychologists, and mental health professionals implementing positive education frameworks. It allows practitioners to assess baseline strengths use before rolling out strengths-based interventions, track developmental shifts throughout the academic year, and identify disengaged or at-risk students who possess personal capabilities but struggle to mobilize them in the face of academic stress. In educational research, the ASUS facilitates investigations into structural equation models evaluating how strength deployment mediates the associations between emotional competencies, school climate, academic motivation, and adolescent psychopathology.

Psychological Construct

The psychological construct assessed by the ASUS is school-based adolescent strength use. Strength use is defined as the behavioral application, initiative, and proactive mobilization of one’s idiosyncratic psychological assets, talents, and virtues to meet everyday goals, overcome scholastic challenges, and sustain personal vitality. Rather than measuring a student’s standing on fixed, normative trait inventories (such as the VIA Classification of 24 character strengths), the ASUS operationalizes strength use as an overarching, functional behavioral process.

Within school environments, strength use comprises several interacting psychological dimensions captured within the scale’s unidimensional structure:

• Academic Task Execution and Problem-Solving: Students who actively utilize their strengths mobilize these capabilities directly into learning activities, homework, exam preparation, and complex assignments. This dynamic is represented by items assessing the deployment of personal strengths during educational tasks and when confronting scholastic obstacles.
• Goal Striving and Achievement Motivation: The proactive alignment of individual strengths with short-term academic goals and long-term vocational aspirations. When students deploy their strengths, goal striving shifts from extrinsic compliance to intrinsically regulated agency, enhancing academic determination and self-regulation.
• Environmental Opportunity-Seeking: Active strengths use involves not only passive execution when requested, but also the active exploration and creation of environmental affordances where one’s strengths can be expressed. This entails seeking leadership roles, choosing specific electives, or framing assignments around personal capabilities.
• Affective Energization and Authentic Confidence: Applying personal strengths is inherently energizing and reinforcing. In contrast to effortful compensation for skill deficits, strengths utilization evokes positive affective states, vitality, and authentic self-efficacy, fostering resilience against academic burnout.

The ASUS approaches these facets as mutually reinforcing manifestations of a coherent, singular construct. A high score signifies that the adolescent possesses both the self-awareness to recognize their competencies and the self-regulatory agency to channel those virtues into their academic routines, social interactions with peers and teachers, and stress-mitigation strategies.

Theoretical Framework

The design and operationalization of the Adolescent Strengths Use Scale are anchored in the convergence of three foundational psychological frameworks: the Values in Action (VIA) Classification, the Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions, and Self-Determination Theory (SDT).

Values in Action (VIA) and Positive Psychology

Grounded in the seminal work of Martin Seligman and Christopher Peterson (2004), the VIA classification organized human virtues into universal character strengths. Early applications focused heavily on strengths identification. However, contemporary positive psychologists, including Alex Wood, P. Alex Linley, and Claudia Harzer, established that the behavioral application of strengths exerts a more pronounced causal influence on subjective well-being than their static identification. The ASUS adopts this operational distinction, focusing entirely on how youth act upon their strengths within the structural bounds of the secondary education ecosystem.

Broaden-and-Build Theory

Formulated by Barbara Fredrickson, the Broaden-and-Build Theory posits that positive emotional experiences broaden individuals’ momentary thought-action repertoires, prompting exploratory behavior, cognitive flexibility, and social integration. Over time, these broadened repertoires build enduring psychological, intellectual, and social resources. Strengths use acts as an immediate trigger for positive emotionality (such as vitality, pride, interest, and joy). When adolescents apply their strengths to master school tasks, they experience an affective boost that counteracts negative evaluation anxiety, broadens their problem-solving approaches, and incrementally constructs enduring academic resilience.

Self-Determination Theory (SDT)

Developed by Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan, Self-Determination Theory posits that human well-being and autonomous motivation depend upon the fulfillment of three basic psychological needs: autonomy (the perception of volitional self-direction), competence (feeling effective in interacting with the social and physical environment), and relatedness (experiencing reciprocal interpersonal connection). Strengths use fundamentally nourishes these needs: deploying strengths is inherently authentic and volitional (autonomy), enhances mastery and performance outcomes (competence), and facilitates prosocial, collaborative engagement within school communities (relatedness).

Validity

The psychometric validation of the ASUS followed rigorous international methodological standards for psychological test construction, confirming construct, convergent, discriminant, and criterion-related validity across adolescent cohorts (Demir et al., 2024).

Construct Validity

During initial test conceptualization, an extensive review of the literature coupled with expert panel reviews generated an initial pool of 12 items. Content validity analysis by subject-matter experts in psychological counseling, child development, and psychometrics evaluated item clarity, developmental appropriateness, and conceptual coverage. Five items exhibiting conceptual redundancy or sub-optimal psychometric characteristics were eliminated, yielding the final 7-item scale. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses subsequently validated that the 7 items load cleanly onto a single, parsimonious latent factor.

Convergent and Criterion Validity

Criterion-related validity was established by examining bivariate correlations between the ASUS and multiple validated developmental and mental health scales. As theoretically hypothesized:

• Student Subjective Well-Being: The ASUS demonstrated strong, statistically significant positive correlations with global subjective well-being and school-specific happiness, illustrating that adolescents who routinely leverage their strengths experience enhanced emotional satisfaction with their educational trajectory.
• Prosocial Behavior: Scores on the ASUS correlated positively with validated indices of prosocial engagement and social connectedness, indicating that youth who actively apply personal strengths frequently utilize them in cooperative and altruistic ways within the school community.
• Internalizing Behaviors: In alignment with protective asset models, ASUS scores exhibited significant negative correlations with internalizing symptomatology, including symptoms of generalized anxiety, sadness, and social withdrawal.
• Externalizing Behaviors: Negative associations were observed with disruptive, oppositional, and externalizing problem behaviors, corroborating the hypothesis that constructive strengths utilization provides an adaptive behavioral outlet that mitigates school-based conduct problems.

Reliability

The ASUS has demonstrated high reliability across internal consistency, latent construct stability, and temporal invariance:

• Internal Consistency: In the validation study (Demir et al., 2024), the ASUS achieved a Cronbach’s alpha (α) coefficient of .82. Because Cronbach’s alpha assumes tau-equivalence, the authors additionally evaluated McDonald’s omega (ω), yielding a coefficient of .83, confirming high internal consistency without relying on the restrictive assumptions of classical test theory.
• Latent Construct Reliability: Evaluating the composite reliability (CR) from confirmatory structural parameters produced a latent construct reliability coefficient of .88, well above the conventional .70 threshold for psychological measurement.
• Test-Retest Temporal Stability: To determine the consistency of ASUS scores over time, a subsample of adolescents completed the instrument on two separate occasions separated by a four-week interval. The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient between the two administrations was r = .88 (p < .01), demonstrating excellent temporal stability and confirming that while strengths use is amenable to developmental intervention, it operates as a stable behavioral disposition over typical assessment intervals.

Factor Analysis

The internal structural validity of the ASUS was empirically examined through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmed through structural equation modeling via confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) across distinct adolescent samples.

Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA)

Prior to factor extraction, sample adequacy and matrix factorability were evaluated. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy and Bartlett’s test of sphericity confirmed the dataset’s suitability for factor analysis. Principal axis factoring revealed a robust single-factor structure with an eigenvalue greater than 1.0 (explaining 49.4% of the total variance). All seven items demonstrated substantial factor loadings on the single latent factor, well above the conservative .50 cutoff, confirming that a unidimensional construct accounts for the covariance among items without significant secondary cross-loadings.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)

CFA was conducted using maximum likelihood estimation to substantiate the unidimensional measurement model. The goodness-of-fit indices demonstrated superior correspondence between the empirical data and the hypothesized single-factor model:

• Chi-Square to Degrees of Freedom Ratio (χ²/df): 2.52 (p < .001), comfortably within the recommended standard of ≤ 3.0 for well-fitting structural models.
• Comparative Fit Index (CFI): .98 (exceeding the benchmark of .95 for excellent fit).
• Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI): .96 (exceeding the standard of .95).
• Goodness-of-Fit Index (GFI): .97 (indicating strong variance-covariance explanation).
• Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA): .06, accompanied by a 90% confidence interval denoting acceptable and precise model approximation.

Collectively, these parameters establish that the 7-item ASUS operates as an empirically unified instrument, rendering total summed scores psychometrically interpretable.

Instrument / Measurement Tool

The structural characteristics, administration protocol, and scoring instructions for the Adolescent Strengths Use Scale are summarized below:

• Test Name: Adolescent Strengths Use Scale (ASUS)
• Test Type: Original self-report rating scale
• Construct Assessed: Adolescent school-based strengths use
• Item Count: 7 items
• Target Population: Adolescents in middle school and high school (Grades 7 through 12, ages 13 to 17; validated also into emerging adulthood)
• Administration Format: Paper-and-pencil or secure computer/tablet-based digital administration; individual or group testing
• Response Scale: 5-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Undecided, 4 = Agree, 5 = Strongly agree)
• Scoring Rules: All 7 items are framed positively and scored directly from 1 to 5. There are no reverse-scored items.
• Score Calculation: Total scores are calculated by summing the numerical ratings across all 7 items. The theoretical range of total scores spans from 7 to 35. Alternatively, a mean score can be computed by dividing the sum by 7 (ranging from 1.00 to 5.00).
• Interpretation: Higher aggregate scores indicate greater frequency, agency, and intentionality in deploying personal strengths within school settings. Scores between 7 and 16 denote low strengths deployment (potential targets for strengths-based counseling); scores from 17 to 25 reflect moderate, emerging strengths use; and scores between 26 and 35 indicate high strengths integration, associated with superior academic self-efficacy, prosociality, and psychological resilience.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Adolescent Strengths Use Scale was formally published in 2024 in The Educational and Developmental Psychologist. The ASUS is classified as an open-access, non-commercial psychological assessment tool. It is accessible free of charge for empirical scientific research, academic education, school-based diagnostic evaluations, and non-profit psychological counseling initiatives. Researchers and practitioners may utilize the scale without purchasing a proprietary commercial license, provided that appropriate scholarly attribution is accorded to the original authors (Demir, Murat, & Arslan, 2024). Commercial distribution, modification, or inclusion in monetized commercial software requires explicit written permission from the copyright holders.

References

• Demir, R., Murat, M., & Arslan, G. (2024). Development of Adolescent Strengths Use Scale for Turkish adolescents. The Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 41(1), 50–57. https://doi.org/10.1080/20590776.2023.2284167
• Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218–226. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.218
• Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. American Psychological Association; Oxford University Press.
• Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68
• Wood, A. M., Linley, P. A., Maltby, J., Kashdan, T. B., & Hurling, R. (2011). Using personal and psychological strengths leads to increases in well-being over time: A longitudinal study and the development of the Strengths Use Scale. Journal of Research in Personality, 45(1), 15–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2010.11.001

Items of the Scale