The role of character strengths in predicting success and retention for United States Military Academy at West Point Cadets

Several prior studies have attempted to predict aspects of performance in the distinctive population of students accepted for enrollment at the United States Military Academy at West Point. The present study investigated the incremental predictive value of character strengths and character strength factor scores over college admission cognitive test scores, grit, and conscientiousness. Outcomes included basic training and graduation retention and academic performance at graduation. Data were collected from 1,298 West Point Cadets who arrived in July 2007 as part of the West Point Class of 2011. Cognitive testing was a useful predictor of academic outcomes. Conscientiousness and to a lesser extent grit predicted retention and academic performance. Even after accounting for these variables, character strengths of self-regulation and perseverance proved predictive of retention and outcomes. One of the most interesting findings was that certain character strengths (creativity, bravery, and spirituality in particular) proved to be negatively related to outcomes. These findings suggest the potential value of character strengths as predictors of positive outcomes and as flags for students needing additional mentoring in this setting.