Descriptive study of character strength on volunteers “GMB-Lapas Anak Berbagi†in special development institution (LPKA) Bandung.

Abstract

The rise of children number that engaged in injustice cases make them dealt with the law. Dealing with the law impacts negatively on the children psychological development and this stimulates a movement  to care prisoners children in Bandung city. The movement is called ‘Mari Berbagi-Lapas Anak Berbagi’. Volunteers provide companionship and skill teaching to prisoners children to prepare them when they go back to society. There are many problems faced by volunteers in the comapnionship process. The problems are about children characteristic called character strength. Peterson & Seligman (2004) introduce character strengths as a subject in positive psychology. Character Strength is a positive trait helps individual to live and work properly, this power encourage the volunteers to survive and endure in their duties. The objective of the study is to describe character stregth on volunteers of prisoners students in Lembaga Pembinaan Khusus Anak (LPKA) Bandung. This  is a descriptive study with 60 volunteers of prisoner children in Lembaga Pembinaan Khusus Anak (LPKA) Bandung as the sample of research population. The instrument used is a questionnaire; Values In Action Inventory Scale (VIA-IS). The results show that there is a special character strength (Signature Strength) from 60 respondents. The five special character strengths are Gratitude, Kindness, Fairness, Hope, and Open Mindedness. Virtue transcendence is the basic capital of volunteers to endure in accomplishing their duties, accompanying prisoner children in LPKA Bandung.