본 연구는 유아와 어머니의 대표 강점 유형이 어떠하며, 유아의 연령과 성에 따라 유아의성격 강점이 어떠한지, 그리고 어머니의 연령과 취업여부에 따라 어머니의 성격 강점에 차이가 있는지를 분석하였으며, 유아와 어머니의 성격 강점이 유아의 어린이집 적응과 어떤 관계가 있는지를 알아보았다. 연구 참여자는 만 4-6세 유아와 어머니 446쌍이었다. 유아의 성격강점은 어머니가 자녀의 성격 강점에 대해 자유롭게 기술한 내용을 VIA(Values in Action) 분류체계에 따라 범주화하였고, 어머니의 성격 강점은 VIA-72 (Peterson & Park, 2009; Peterson & Seligman, 2004)를 사용하여 측정하였으며, 유아의 어린이집 적응은 유아용 어린이집 적응 평정척도(박영아, 엄서영, 2012)를 통해 측정하였다. 연구 결과 유아의 대표 강점은 사회성, 친절, 사랑, 희망, 인내였으며, 어머니의 대표 강점은 진실성, 공정성, 사랑, 감사, 친절인 것으로 나타났다. 유아의 연령이 증가하면서 개방성, 사랑, 자기조절, 심미안, 희망이점차 감소하는 경향이 있었으며, 성별에 따라서는 호기심, 인내, 시민의식은 남아가 더 많이나타내는 반면 개방성, 사회성은 여아가 더 많이 나타내는 경향을 보였다. 어머니의 연령에따라서는 개방성, 학구열, 인내, 진실성, 영성에서 연령이 높은 어머니가 연령이 낮은 어머니보다 높게 나타났다. 어린이집 적응과 관련 있는 성격 강점은 유아의 경우 개방성, 사회성, 리더십이었고, 어머니의 경우 진실성, 친절, 공정성인 것으로 나타났다.
This study defines signature strengths of young children and their mothers, and analyzes how character strengths of young children vary depending on their age and gender as well as how character strengths of mothers differ from their age and working status. Eventually to find out the relationship between character strengths of young children and their mothers and young children’s child care center adjustment. The participants were 446 pairs of young children aged 4 to 6 and their mothers. The character strengths of young children were categorized by VIA (Values in Action) classification, based on free descriptions given by their mothers. The character strengths of the mothers were measured using VIA-72 (Peterson & Park, 2009; Peterson & Seligman, 2004), and child care center adjustment was measured by rating scale for child care center adjustment of young children (Park & Eom, 2012). As a result, the signature strengths of the young children were social intelligence, kindness, love, hope, and persistence, while those of mothers were integrity, fairness, love, gratitude, and kindness. As young children get old, their open-mindedness, love, self-regulation, appreciation of beauty and excellence, and hope showed a tendency to decrease. In terms of gender differences, the boys showed more curiosity, persistence, and citizenship, whereas the girls showed more open-mindedness and social intelligence. With regard to the age of the mothers, the older ones showed more open-mindedness, love of learning, persistence, integrity, and spirituality than the younger ones. In case of the children, the character strengths related to child care center adjustment were open-mindedness, social intelligence, and leadership, while those were integrity, kindness, and fairness as for the mothers.
This study defines signature strengths of young children and their mothers, and analyzes how character strengths of young children vary depending on their age and gender as well as how character strengths of mothers differ from their age and working status. Eventually to find out the relationship between character strengths of young children and their mothers and young children’s child care center adjustment. The participants were 446 pairs of young children aged 4 to 6 and their mothers. The character strengths of young children were categorized by VIA (Values in Action) classification, based on free descriptions given by their mothers. The character strengths of the mothers were measured using VIA-72 (Peterson & Park, 2009; Peterson & Seligman, 2004), and child care center adjustment was measured by rating scale for child care center adjustment of young children (Park & Eom, 2012). As a result, the signature strengths of the young children were social intelligence, kindness, love, hope, and persistence, while those of mothers were integrity, fairness, love, gratitude, and kindness. As young children get old, their open-mindedness, love, self-regulation, appreciation of beauty and excellence, and hope showed a tendency to decrease. In terms of gender differences, the boys showed more curiosity, persistence, and citizenship, whereas the girls showed more open-mindedness and social intelligence. With regard to the age of the mothers, the older ones showed more open-mindedness, love of learning, persistence, integrity, and spirituality than the younger ones. In case of the children, the character strengths related to child care center adjustment were open-mindedness, social intelligence, and leadership, while those were integrity, kindness, and fairness as for the mothers.
