Are cardinal and transcendent virtues associated with human flourishing? A study of university students

This study examines the extent to which cardinal and transcendent virtues are associated with human flourishing among university students, responding to the growing interest in how character development contributes to well-being in higher education. A sample of 1,159 first-year students from a Mexican university completed three validated self-report instruments: the Secure Flourishing Measure (SFM), the Questionnaire of Competencies and Cardinal Virtues (QCV), and the Questionnaire of Transcendent Virtues (MHM). Factor analyses indicated that the SFM was best represented by a four-factor structure in which happiness and life satisfaction, health, and meaning/purpose loaded onto a broader wellbeing factor. Regression analyses showed that, among the cardinal virtues, fortitude and justice were significantly related to flourishing, with fortitude showing the strongest association. Among the transcendent virtues, magnanimity and humility showed significant associations with flourishing, particularly magnanimity. When both virtue sets were considered jointly, fortitude and magnanimity remained the most strongly associated with flourishing. These findings are consistent with flourishing in emerging adulthood being more strongly associated with agency, perseverance, and hopeful striving than with reflective deliberation alone. The results also inform the ongoing debate on whether flourishing should be considered an educational aim and provide evidence that virtue-based assessment tools can guide educational practice and support integral formation. The findings further suggest that flourishing may depend not on isolated virtues but on their integration within broader patterns of character development.