Assessing Gratitude in Elementary School Students

Gratitude is associated with fewer symptoms of psychopathology, positive emotions, and greater life satisfaction in adulthood. Focusing on children’s character strengths, like gratitude, may offer a promising way to facilitate child development and better life outcomes. The present study explored th...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author Hughes, Stephanie L
Format Dissertation
LanguageEnglish
Published ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01.01.2019
Subjects
Achievement Need
Adolescents
Adults
Child Development
Educational psychology
Elementary education
Elementary School Students
Student Motivation
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Summary:Gratitude is associated with fewer symptoms of psychopathology, positive emotions, and greater life satisfaction in adulthood. Focusing on children’s character strengths, like gratitude, may offer a promising way to facilitate child development and better life outcomes. The present study explored the relationship between adapted self-report measures of gratitude in children (i.e., 7–10 years old) over two time periods to determine whether gratitude is a stable construct at this age. Psychometric properties of the adapted Gratitude Questionnaire-6 (McCullough, Emmons, & Tsang, 2002) and Gratitude Adjective Checklist (McCullough et al., 2002) were examined to determine reliability and validity based on a sample of 48 students. Results provide preliminary evidence that gratitude is a stable construct that can be measured in this population. Test-retest scores fell within the moderate to strong range across measures of gratitude over a one-month span. Scores across gratitude measures indicated acceptable internal consistency with the exception of questionable estimates on the GQ-6 for females during the first data collection period. Total scores yielded a moderate positive correlation across gratitude measures during one data collection period but only a weak correlation during the other, providing partial support for concurrent validity. Results showed mild to moderate positive correlations between gratitude and optimism, lending support for construct validity since gratitude is theorized to be a distinct but related character trait. Implications and recommendations for future research on gratitude assessment and gratitude promotion in childhood are offered.
ISBN:1392612349
9781392612347