Resilience through the Lens of Optimism, Self-Esteem, Life Satisfaction, and Virtues: Hierarchical Regression Analysis

Abstract

Abstract Background The present study is to examine the effect virtues (courage, practical wisdom, integrity, committed action, emotional transcendence) in predicting resilience. Methods 595 adults participated in the study. At the first stage of regression analysis, resilience was predicted based on participants’ optimism, self-esteem, and life satisfaction scores. Then, five virtues that include courage, integrity, practical wisdom, committed action, and emotional transcendence were added in the second stage regression model, and changes in the Adjusted R2 were inspected via hierarchical regression analysis. Results In the first stage, 21% of the variance in resilience was explained by the combination of optimism, self-esteem, and life satisfaction. With the addition of virtue factors, the total variance of resilience explained was then improved to 56%. Conclusion Change in the Adjusted R2 was 35%, indicative of virtue effect. Virtue was a popular concept in the early history of behavior science but became disfavored with the rise of empiricism as it was viewed as a moral and philosophical construct. The results of this study reassure that virtue can be studied empirically and findings necessitate additional research into the virtue effect in the context of resilience and adjustment to life's challenges.