Gratitude and subjective well-being in a group of adolescents

Abstract

M.A.Satisfactory psychosocial development during adolescence will equip individuals with intrapersonal and interpersonal resources to facilitate adaptive negotiations of the complex adult world. There has been increasing empirical interest in fostering optimal development in adolescents through enhancing positive attributes and aspects of mental health. Accordingly, researchers have begun investigating the benefits of frequent experiences of gratitude, and have found that gratitude is associated with subjective well-being (SWB) among adolescents. The relationship between gratitude and SWB may be particularly important for South African youth, whose development occurs within the context of socio-political difficulties associated with transformation in the post-apartheid era, which could have a negative impact on their SWB. However, there has been no research undertaken to investigate gratitude and SWB among South African adolescents. This study investigated the prevalence of gratitude, and the relationship between gratitude and SWB, among 812 adolescents in Gauteng. Specifically, the prevalence of state gratitude and trait gratitude were determined, and compared across female and male adolescents, and among participants from different population groups. Further, the relationship between state gratitude and SWB, and trait gratitude and SWB, was established and compared across gender and among individuals from various population groups. A quantitative non-experimental design was employed. Data was collected by self-report questionnaires assessing the prevalence of gratitude and SWB. The data was analysed by examining mean scores, conducting one-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs), as well as Pearson‟s product moment-correlation coefficients, and a multivariate analysis of variance and follow-up ANOVAs