Strengths and satisfaction in first year undergraduate students: A longitudinal study

Half of college student attrition occurs in the first year of college, so identifying factors that contribute to student satisfaction is an important target for research. Knowledge and use of one’s strengths are two such variables associated with academic and life satisfaction, but studies establishing these relations have been largely cross-sectional. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine longitudinal relations from strengths knowledge to strengths use and from strengths use to academic and life satisfaction. While strengths knowledge consistently predicted strengths use over time and strengths use consistently predicted academic satisfaction over time, strengths use did not predict life satisfaction over time. These results have implications for strengths research broadly and for higher education personnel working with first year college students.