Resilience, Mental Flourishing, Character Strengths and Job Satisfaction of Adults with Dyslexia Compared to a Control Group
Aglaia Stampoltzis , Anastasia E. Paradisi , Dimitrios Theodosakis
Dyslexia is traditionally regarded as a disability which has an impact on the learning process of reading, spelling and writing. This study attempts t.
- Pub. date: September 15, 2023
- Pages: 119-130
- 277 Downloads
- 547 Views
- 0 Citations
Dyslexia is traditionally regarded as a disability which has an impact on the learning process of reading, spelling and writing. This study attempts to explore the character strengths, flourishing, resilience, and perceptions of professional success and satisfaction of 477 Greek adults. The sample consisted of 30 adults with an official diagnosis of dyslexia, 103 adults who scored above the threshold limit in the Dyslexia Checklist, and 344 adults who did not report any leaning difficulty. The following instruments were employed in the study: the Brief Resilience Scale, the Flourishing Scale, and subscales of the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths 120 (creativity, perseverance, social intelligence and teamwork). The results show that the dyslexic group scored higher in creativity and teamwork in comparison to the control group. No statistical differences were observed in professional success and satisfaction between the groups. Level of education seems to correlate with creativity. The prediction models showed a negative correlation of social intelligence with suspected dyslexia and a very low prediction of flourishing and resilience on the basis of dyslexia status. Positive traits of dyslexia are worth further study. Identifying strengths among people with dyslexia might be helpful for implementing new educational interventions and strategies.
Keywords: Dyslexia, flourishing, job satisfaction, positive dyslexia, resilience.
0
References
Adult Dyslexia Organisation. (n.d.). Revised Adult Dyslexia Organisation screening. https://bit.ly/3q0aJAy
Agahi, A. S. (2015). Investigating the strengths of dyslexia in successful adults and university students [Doctoral dissertation, University of Sheffield]. White Rose eTheses Online. https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/8587/
Alexander-Passe, N. (2015). Dyslexia: Investigating self-harm and suicidal thoughts/attempts as a coping strategy. Journal of Psychology & Psychotherapy, 5(6). Article 224. https://doi.org/10.4172/2161-0487.1000224
Alves, R. J. R., & Nakano, T. D. C. (2014). Creativity and intelligence in children with and without developmental dyslexia. Paidéia (Ribeirão Preto), 24(59), 361-369. https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-43272459201410
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
Bampalou, C. E., Kouimtzi, E. M., Bonti, E., & Kyritsis, Z. (2020). Greek adult population with specific learning disabilities: Epidemiology, demographics, and gender differences. Hellenic Journal of Psychology, 17(2), 97-118. https://bit.ly/3Kb5chj
Bell, S. (2009). Exploring support for dyslexic adults in the English workforce: Lessons learnt from the story of an adult dyslexia group. Support for Learning, 24(2), 73-80. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9604.2009.01402.x
Cancer, A., Manzoli, S., & Antonietti, A. (2016). The alleged link between creativity and dyslexia: Identifying the specific process in which dyslexic students excel. Cogent Psychology, 3(1), 1190309. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2016.1190309
Chao, R. C.-L. (2015). Counseling psychology: An integrated positive psychological approach. Wiley Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119137245
Cosden, M., Elliott, K., Noble, S., & Kelemen, E. (1999). Self-understanding and self-esteem in children with learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 22(4), 279-290. https://doi.org/10.2307/1511262
Dale, F., & Aiken, F. (2007). A review of the literature into dyslexia in nursing practice (Final report). Royal College of Nursing. https://bit.ly/3E390Ob
Davis, R. D., & Braum, E. M. (2010). The gift of dyslexia. Perigee Books.
Diener, E., Wirtz, D., Tov, W., Kim-Prieto, C., Choi, D.-W., Oishi, S., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2010). New well-being measures: Short scales to assess flourishing and positive and negative feelings. Social Indicators Research, 97, 143-156. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-009-9493-y
Ernst & Young. (2018). The value of dyslexia: Dyslexic strengths and the changing world of work. https://bit.ly/44IHu4n
Everatt, J., Steffert, B., & Smythe, I. (1999). An eye for the unusual: Creative thinking in dyslexics. Dyslexia, 5(1), 28-46. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-0909(199903)5:1%3C28::AID-DYS126%3E3.0.CO;2-K
Everatt, J., Weeks, S., & Brooks, P. (2008). Profiles of strengths and weaknesses in dyslexia and other learning difficulties. Dyslexia, 14(1), 16-41. https://doi.org/10.1002/dys.342
Fink, R. P. (1995). Successful dyslexics: A constructivist study of passionate interest reading. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 39(4), 268–280. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40013413.
Franks, K., & Frederick, H. (2013). Dyslexic and entrepreneur: Typologies, commonalities, and differences. Journal of Asia Entrepreneurship and Sustainability, 9(1), 95-115. https://bit.ly/3Eb4Nbf
Gardner, H. (2006). Multiple intelligences: New horizons in theory and practice. Basic Books.
Gerber, P. J. (2012). The impact of learning disabilities on adulthood: A review of the evidenced based literature for research and practice in adult education. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 45(1), 31-46. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219411426858
Geschwind, N. (1982). Why Orton was right. Annals of Dyslexia, 32, 13–30. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02647951
Ghisi, M., Bottesi, G., Re, A. M., & Cerea, S., & Mammarella, I. C. (2016). Socioemotional features and resilience in Italian university students with and without dyslexia. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, Article 478. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00478
Glazzard, J., & Dale, K. (2013). Trainee teachers with dyslexia: Personal narratives of resilience. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 13(1), 26-37. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-3802.2012.01254.x
Gottfredson, L. S., Finucci, J. M. & Childs, B. (1984). Explaining the adult careers of dyslexic boys: Variations in critical skills for high-level jobs. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 24(3), 355-373. https://doi.org/10.1016/0001-8791(84)90018-6
Hellendoorn, J., & Ruijssenaars, W. (2000). Personal experiences and adjustment of Dutch adults with dyslexia. Remedial and Special Education, 21(4), 227-239. https://doi.org/10.1177/074193250002100405
Hoffmann, F. J., Sheldon, K. L., Minskoff, E. H., Sautter, S. W., Steidle, E. F., Baker, D. P., Bailey, M. B., & Echols, L. D. (1987). Needs of learning disabled adults. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 20(1), 43–52. https://doi.org/10.1177/002221948702000107
Horowitz, S. H., Rawe, J., & Whittaker, M. C. (2017). The state of learning disabilities: Understanding the 1 in 5. National Center for Learning Disabilities. https://bit.ly/NCLD2017
Ingesson, S. G. (2007). Growing up with dyslexia: Interviews with teenagers and young adults. School Psychology International, 28(5), 574-591. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143034307085659
Kannangara, C. S. (2015). From languishing dyslexia to thriving dyslexia: Developing a new conceptual approach to working with people with dyslexia. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, Article 1976. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01976
Kannangara, C. S., Allen, R. E., Waugh, G., Nahar, N., Khan, S. Z. N., Rogerson, S., & Carson, J. (2018). All that glitters is not grit: Three studies of grit in university students. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, Article 1539. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01539
Knight, C., & Krick, T. (2021). The assignment and distribution of the dyslexia label: Using the UK Millennium Cohort Study to investigate the socio-demographic predictors of the dyslexia label in England and Wales. PLoS ONE, 16(8), Article e0256114. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256114
Kyriazos, T. A., Stalikas, A., Prassa, K., Galanakis, M., Yotsidi, V., & Lakioti, A. (2018). Psychometric evidence of the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) and modeling distinctiveness of resilience from depression and stress. Psychology, 9(7), 1828-1857. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2018.97107
Littman-Ovadia, H., & Lavy, S. (2012). Differential ratings and associations with well-being of character strengths in two communities. Health Sociology Review, 21(3), 299-312. https://doi.org/10.5172/hesr.2012.21.3.299
Littman-Ovadia, H., Lazar-Butbul, V., & Benjamin, B. A. (2014). Strengths-based career counseling: Overview and initial evaluation. Journal of Career Assessment, 22(3), 403-419. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072713498483
Logan, J. (2009). Dyslexic entrepreneurs: The incidence, their coping strategies and their business skills. Dyslexia, 15(4), 328-346. https://doi.org/10.1002/dys.388
McLoughlin, D., Leather, C., & Stringer, P. (2002). The adult dyslexic: Intervention and outcomes. Wiley.
McNulty, M. A. (2003). Dyslexia and the life course. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 36(4), 363–381. https://doi.org/10.1177/00222194030360040701
Nicolson, R. (2015). Positive dyslexia. Rodin Books.
Osmond, J. (1993). The reality of dyslexia. Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd..
Pachalska, M., Bogdanowicz, K., Tomaszewska, K., Łockiewicz, M., & Bogdanowicz, M. (2009). The stimulation of creative activity in dyslexic adults. Acta Neuropsychologica, 7(2), 113-130. https://shorturl.at/oADTY
Park, N., Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Strengths of character and well-being. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23(5), 603-619. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.23.5.603.50748
Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. American Psychological Association / Oxford University Press.
Pezirkianidis, C., Karakasidou, E., Stalikas, A., Moraitou, D., & Charalambous, V. (2020). Character strengths and virtues in the Greek cultural context. Psychology: The Journal of the Hellenic Psychological Society, 25(1), 35–54. https://doi.org/10.12681/psy_hps.25335
Reid, G., & Kirk, J. (2001). Dyslexia in adults: Education and employment. Wiley.
Riddick, B. (2003). Experiences of teachers and trainee teachers who are dyslexic. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 7(4), 389-402. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360311032000110945
Riddick, B., Farmer, M., & Sterling, C. M. (1997). Students and dyslexia: Growing up with a specific learning difficulty. John Wiley & Sons.
Rose, J. (2009). Identifying and teaching children and young people with dyslexia and literacy difficulties (An independent report). The Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families. https://bit.ly/44qjUZq
Sanderson-Mann, J., & McCandless, F. (2006). Understanding dyslexia and nurse education in the clinical setting. Nurse Education in Practice, 6(3), 127-133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2005.10.004
Shaywitz, S. E., Holahan, J. M., Kenney, B., & Shaywitz, B. A. (2020). The Yale outcome study: Outcomes for graduates with and without dyslexia. Journal of Pediatric Neuropsychology, 6, 189–197. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40817-020-00094-3
West, T. G. (1997). In the mind’s eye: Visual thinkers, gifted people with dyslexia and other learning difficulties, computer images and the ironies of creativity (Updated ed.). Prometheus.
Smith, B. W., Dalen, J., Wiggins, K., Tooley, E., Christopher, P., & Bernard J. (2008). The brief resilience scale: Assessing the ability to bounce back. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 15, 194–200. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705500802222972
Stampoltzis, A., & Polychronopoulou, S. (2009). Greek university students with dyslexia: An interview study. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 24(3), 307-321. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856250903020195
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2019). Using multivariate statistics (7th ed.). Pearson.
Umucu, E., Lee, B., Genova, H. M., Chopik, W. J., Sung, C., Yasuoka, M., & Niemiec, R. M. (2022). Character strengths across disabilities: An international exploratory study and implications for positive psychiatry and psychology. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, Article 863977. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.863977
Willcutt, E. G., & Pennington, B. F. (2000). Comorbidity of reading disability and Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder: Differences by gender and subtype. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 33(2), 179–191. https://doi.org/10.1177/002221940003300206
Wolff, U. (2011). Effects of a randomised reading intervention study: An application of structural equation modelling. Dyslexia, 17(4), 295-311. https://doi.org/10.1002/dys.438