▁both ▁countries ▁were ▁more ▁likely ▁score ▁highly ▁on ▁the ▁strength s ▁of ▁open - mind ed ness , ▁perspective , ▁cre ativity , ▁self - reg ulation ▁and ▁bra very . ▁ ▁The ▁correl ations ▁between ▁specific ▁strength s ▁and ▁happiness ▁out comes ▁were ▁consistent ▁as ▁well . ▁ ▁More ▁specifically , ▁the ▁strength s ▁of ▁z est , ▁curiosity , ▁grat itude , ▁and ▁hope ▁were ▁significantly ▁posit ively ▁correl ated ▁with ▁subject ive ▁measures ▁of ▁happiness ▁for ▁both ▁populations . ▁ ▁D iffer ences ▁between ▁the ▁young ▁adult s ▁in ▁Japan ▁and ▁the ▁U . S . ▁emer ged ▁as ▁well . ▁ ▁The ▁rank - order ▁of ▁religious ness ▁was ▁the ▁biggest ▁difference ▁between ▁the ▁cult ures . ▁ ▁For ▁American ▁young ▁adult s , ▁religious ness ▁was ▁on ▁average , ▁the ▁ 1 4 th ▁most ▁pre val ent ▁strength . ▁ ▁For ▁Japanese ▁young ▁adult s , ▁religious ness ▁was , ▁on ▁average , ▁the ▁ 1 9 th ▁most ▁pre val ent ▁strength . ▁ ▁The ▁research ers ▁attributed ▁this ▁finding ▁to ▁the ▁fact ▁that ▁some ▁of ▁the ▁items ▁on ▁the ▁VI A - IS ▁that ▁assess ▁religious ness ▁were ▁based ▁on ▁Western ▁con not ations ▁of ▁religios ity ▁( e . g . ▁mon othe istic ▁trad itions ). ▁ ▁A ▁notable ▁limitation ▁of ▁this ▁study ▁is ▁that ▁the ▁research ers ▁exam ined ▁young ▁adult s , ▁rather ▁than ▁the ▁population ▁at - large . ▁ ▁According ▁to ▁the ▁research ers , ▁young ▁adult s ▁in