Mediating role of self-concept on character strengths and well-being among adolescents with specific learning disorder in India.
For teens with SLD, raising self-concept is a partial bridge between their natural strengths and feeling better.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Williams et al. (2023) asked Indian teens with specific learning disorder to fill out three surveys. The surveys measured character strengths, self-concept, and well-being.
The team then ran a mediation test to see if self-concept helps explain why strengths link to well-being.
What they found
Self-concept only partly carried the effect. Character strengths still predicted well-being after self-concept was added.
This means boosting self-concept is useful, but it is not the whole story.
How this fits with other research
Scior et al. (2023) found Danish teens with developmental language disorder actually scored higher in self-compassion and life satisfaction than typical peers. Both studies show positive self-views matter, but the DLD group started from a strength, while the Indian SLD group needed a boost.
Khasawneh (2025) looked at young adults with SLD and saw high distress plus low positive emotions. Jessline’s work extends this by showing self-concept is one lever you can pull before those young-adult problems take root.
Lee et al. (2023) used the same mediation trick with ADHD youth. Self-stigma, not self-concept, explained why heavy social-media use led to anxiety. Together these papers say: pick the right self-variable for each diagnosis and risk factor.
Why it matters
You can add a quick self-concept scale to your intake packet for SLD clients. If scores are low, weave self-concept targets into your intervention plan—use strength spotting, peer modeling, or self-graphing. The study says this step will only partly help, so keep other well-being strategies in the mix too.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Adolescents with Specific Learning Disorder (SLD) are at higher risk of academic underachievement, stigmatization, and mental health issues. However, the complete elimination of disorder-related deficits and external challenges is an impracticable solution for enhancing their well-being. AIM: The study adopts a strength-based approach to understand the role of an innate factor, i.e., self-concept, in the association between character strengths and well-being of adolescents with SLD. METHODS: A correlational research design following a mediation analysis was adopted to examine the association between the study variables on a sample of 115 adolescents with SLD from India. RESULTS: Self-concept functioned as a partial mediator between the life-satisfaction construct of well-being and six character strengths: Appreciation of beauty and excellence, Perseverance, Judgment, Leadership, Perspective, and Zest. Gender differences were identified with regard to the study variables. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Self-concept of adolescents with SLD could partly contribute to enhanced character strengths awareness to protect well-being. Further, the crucial role of internal factors like self-concept and character strengths in improving the well-being of this population was highlighted. Thereby encouraging future research on SLD to adopt approaches that focus on innate strengths rather than deficits and external sources of well-being.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2023 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2022.104372