We present results from a study about the expression of gratitude in children and adolescents. Four hundred and thirty children, aged 7 to 14 years old (58% female), answered the questions: "What is your greatest wish?" and "What would you do for the person who granted you this wish?" The responses to the second question were content-analyzed and coded into four types of gratitude: verbal, concrete, connective and finalistic. Subsequently we conducted a quantitative analysis regarding age by each type of response. The results show a decline in the frequency of concrete gratitude and an increase in connective gratitude as respondents' age increases. The results-discussed with reference to the current literaturesuggest questions for new research.

There has been a burgeoning interest in gratitude in adults, adolescents, and children, with most scholars examining the relations between variations in level of gratitude, treated largely as an emotional state, and measures of well-being. In this paper we explain why we think that gratitude should be defined as a virtue, as discussed by neo-Aristotelian virtue ethicists, rather than simply as an emotional state. Defining gratitude as a virtue has clear developmental implications (no child or adolescent could be considered virtuous in the Aristotelian sense), allowing us to consider its likely precursors. It also has cultural implications, as one might expect cultural variations in how gratitude is cultivated in the young. We then discuss methods we think are helpful in allowing an understanding of the development of gratitude, and provide some supportive evidence for its development in different cultural contexts.

Developmental precursors to children’s early understanding of gratitude were examined. A diverse group of 263 children were tested for emotion and mental state knowledge at ages 3 and 4, and their understanding of gratitude was measured at age 5. Children varied widely in their understanding of gratitude, but most understood some aspects of gratitude-eliciting situations. A model-building path analysis approach was used to examine longitudinal relations among early emotion and mental state knowledge and later understanding of gratitude. Children with a better early understanding of emotions and mental states understand more about gratitude. Mental state knowledge at age 4 mediated the relation between emotion knowledge at age 3 and gratitude understanding at age 5. The current study contributes to the scant literature on the early emergence of children’s understanding of gratitude.

Considering gratitude as a virtue, rather than a positive emotion, requires measures different from those more commonly used and which conflate gratitude with appreciation. We here describe those measures, explaining why they are appropriate to the study of gratitude as a virtue. We then discuss how each measure was coded for this special issue, the manner of recruitment of our participants across the seven research sites (Brazil, Guatemala, the United States, Russia, Turkey, China, and South Korea), the overall hypotheses, and the analytic strategies used. Keywords gratitude, children, adolescents, methods, analyses As was discussed in the paper by Merçon-Vargas, Poelker, and Tudge (2018), the Development of Gratitude Research Group (DGRG) treats gratitude as a virtue and, as such, accepts a three-part definition of gratitude. This definition requires (a) that a benefactor freely and intentionally provides some benefit

Children's first years of life are fundamental for healthy development. Appropriate care and education in the early years are far more useful than dealing with later problems, and in both the United States and Brazil scholars and public-policy makers have argued that the goal should be an integrated system of care and education. Using a cultural—historical framework to understand early childhood policies in the United States and Brazil, we examine how notions of care and education have changed over time. We show that although the two societies have the same goal, the approaches to realizing that goal have been, for historical reasons, quite different. Moreover, despite a rapid growth in the numbers of children attending preschool institutions, integrated systems have not been accomplished. Our analysis also shows how the legacy of a dichotomous approach in both societies has impeded the integration of care and education into a single system.

Little research has examined the development of gratitude in youth, and none has related their gratitude to their wishes. We therefore asked 358 7-to 14-year-old North American participants (56% female; 55% White) to write their greatest wish and what they would do for their benefactor. Using chi-square and linear curve estimation, we found that younger youth (aged 7 to 10) were significantly more likely to express hedonistic wishes (desire for immediate gain) and concrete gratitude (not taking the benefactor's wishes into account); older youth (aged 11 to 14) were significantly more likely to wish either for something involving future well-being for themselves or the well-being of others and connective gratitude (taking into account the benefactor's wishes). Within both age groups, there was a significant inverse relation between hedonistic wishes and connective gratitude. This research has implications for encouraging the feeling and expression of connective gratitude. Keywords: gratitude, child development, adolescent development Os Desejos e a Expressão de Gratidão dos JovensResumo: Poucos estudos examinaram o desenvolvimento da gratidão em jovens, e nenhum estabeleceu relações entre sua gratidão e seus desejos. Assim, solicitamos a 358 participantes norte-americanos entre 7 e 14 anos de idade (56% meninas; 55% brancos) que escrevessem qual seria o seu maior desejo e o que eles fariam a seu benfeitor. Utilizando qui quadrado e estimativa de curva linear, encontramos que os mais jovens (de 7 a 10 anos de idade) foram significativamente mais propensos a expressar desejos hedonistas (desejo por ganho imediato) e gratidão concreta (não considerando os desejos do benfeitor); os jovens mais velhos (de 11 a 14 anos de idade) foram significativamente mais propensos a desejar seja algo envolvendo bem-estar futuro para si mesmos seja o bem-estar de outros e gratidão conectiva (levando em conta os desejos do benfeitor). Em ambos os grupos etários, houve uma relação inversa significativa entre desejos hedonistas e gratidão conectiva. Esta pesquisa tem implicações para encorajar o sentimento e a expressão de gratidão conectiva. Palavras-chave: gratidão, desenvolvimento infantil, desenvolvimento do adolescente Los Deseos y la Expresión de la Gratitud en los JóvenesResumen: Pocos estudios han examinado el desarrollo de gratitud en los jóvenes, y ninguno ha relacionado su gratitud a sus deseos. Por lo tanto, pedimos a 358 participantes de América del Norte de 7 a 14 años de edad (55% femenino, 55% blanco) a escribir su mayor deseo y lo que harían por su benefactor. Utilizando un distribución ji-cuadrado y estimación curva lineal, encontramos que los más jóvenes (de 7 a 10 años de edad) fueron significativamente más propensos a expresar los deseos hedonistas (deseo de ganancia inmediata) y la gratitud de concreto (no tomar los deseos del benefactor en cuenta); los jóvenes mayores (de 11 a 14 años de edad) fueron significativamente más propensos a desear sea para algo relacionado con el bienestar futuro para sí mism...

RESUMO. Apresentam-se resultados de um estudo sobre o desenvolvimento do sentimento de gratidão na infância. Os participantes foram 12 crianças, igualmente distribuídas em três grupos etários (5-6, 7-8 e 11-12 anos) e por sexo. Utilizaramse três histórias sobre situações hipotéticas, as quais enfocam diferentes tipos de ação benevolente. Após cada história, realizou-se uma entrevista clínica com a criança. Os resultados sugerem uma diferença entre os grupos etários quanto aos tipos de sentimento positivo atribuídos ao beneficiário da ação. Embora pouco referida pelos participantes, a consideração da mudança do estado sentimental do beneficiário parece contribuir para a compreensão da gratidão. Os resultados indicam ainda que existem diferenças significativas entre os três grupos etários quanto ao tipo de relação estabelecido entre a satisfação experienciada pelo beneficiário e o benfeitor. Os dados encontrados, discutidos à luz da literatura, sugerem novas questões de pesquisa.

O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar se, para as crianças, haveria obrigação de retribuir um favor, enfocando-se as suas justificativas. Realizaram-se entrevistas individuais com 30 crianças, distribuídas em três grupos etários (5-6, 7-8 e 11-12 anos). Utilizou-se uma história na qual um adulto (benfeitor) ajuda uma criança (beneficiário) e investigou-se se o beneficiário deveria retribuir o favor. Os resultados indicaram uma evolução na forma como as crianças concebem a obrigação de retribuir: (a) todas as crianças de 5-6 anos enfocaram consequências para o benfeitor; (b) esse tipo de justificativa diminui com a idade; (c) a retribuição para evitar o juízo alheio negativo foi a explicação mais encontrada entre as crianças a partir dos 7 anos; (d) a retribuição como um bem moral apareceu apenas entre as crianças de 11-12 anos. Este trabalho contribui para a compreensão das diferenças entre gratidão e obrigação e traz subsídios para intervenções educativas.