Parents’ understanding of gratitude in children: A thematic analysis

Halberstadt, Amy G.; Langley, Hillary A.; Hussong, Andrea M.; Rothenberg, W. Andrew; Coffman, Jennifer L.; Mokrova, Irina L.; Costanzo, Philip R.

doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2016.01.014

Cited by 28 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Please use the scale below to note the extent to which you select, or encourage your child to select, activities that do the following." Items on the goals scale were developed from parents’ actual reports of their goals in focus groups (Halberstadt et al, 2016). …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Please select all those activities for which this has been at least part of your goal." Development of the activities scale was guided by two sources: (1) focus group responses regarding activities in which parents intentionally placed their child to cultivate gratitude (Halberstadt et al, 2016) and (2) existing activity selection checklists that measure child prosocial behavior (e.g., Theokas & Lerner, 2006; Agans et al, 2014; Zarrett et al, 2009). Each activities scale item was endorsed by at least 25% of the sample, thus indicating the relevance of these activities for this population.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Grateful parents raising grateful children: Niche selection and the socialization of child gratitude

Rothenberg

Hussong

Langley

et al. 2016

Applied Developmental Science

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Given that children’s exposure to gratitude-related activities may be one way that parents can socialize gratitude in their children, we examined whether parents’ niche selection (i.e., tendency to choose perceived gratitude-inducing activities for their children) mediates the association between parents’ reports of their own and their children's gratitude. Parent-child dyads (N =101; children aged 6-9; 52% girls; 80% Caucasian; 85% mothers) participated in a laboratory visit and parents also completed a seven-day online diary regarding children’s gratitude. Decomposing specific indirect effects within a structural equation model, we found that parents high in gratitude were more likely to set goals to use niche selection as a gratitude socialization strategy, and thereby more likely to place their children in gratitude-related activities. Placement in these activities, in turn, was associated with more frequent expression of gratitude in children. We describe future directions for research on parents’ role in socializing gratitude in their children.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grateful parents raising grateful children: Niche selection and the socialization of child gratitude

Rothenberg

Hussong

Langley

et al. 2016

Applied Developmental Science

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“…Although research on the socialization of gratitude is limited, research does show that parents are instrumental in helping their children understand the concept of gratitude and to say 'thank you' when appropriate (Gleason & Weintraub, 1976). Applying research on emotion socialization more generally, some of the ways that parents could potentially socialize gratitude with their children is through discussions that explain the concept of gratitude to their children, engaging in appreciative behavior and talk that can be modeled by their children, and lastly, encouraging activities and discussion with daughters and sons that help promote gratitude understanding and expression (Halberstadt, Langley, Hussong, Rothenberg, Coffman, Mokrova, & Costanzo, 2016).…”

Section: Parental Socialization Of Emotions and Child Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because gratitude is a complex emotion and involves both emotion and action, there are multiple components of gratitude that parents could be socializing. According to Halberstadt and colleagues, there are three main components of gratitude: emotional, cognitive, and behavioral (Halberstadt et al, 2016). The emotional element of gratitude encompasses the simultaneous increase of positive feelings such as joy, happiness, and benevolence, and the decrease of negative emotions such as sadness and resentment (Emmons & McCullough, 2003 (Rothenberg et al, 2017).…”

Section: Parental Socialization Of Emotions and Child Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, parents may see the socialization of gratitude as a social responsibility to promote social justice. Specifically, parents may perceive gratitude as a moral virtue and believe that cultivating gratitude not only helps the self, but society as a whole Wang et al, 2015 (Gordon et al, 2004;Halberstadt et al, 2016).…”

Section: Strengths Limitations and Future Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Parental Socialization of Child Gratitude and Links to Child Outcomes

Vizy¹

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Research shows that the gratitude is associated with positive mental health in both adults and children. However, research on how gratitude is learned or socialized is limited. The goal of the proposed study was to examine parental socialization of gratitude and its relation to children's gratitude to predict children's positive affect, depressive symptoms, and social skills. A mediation model was tested to determine if children's gratitude explained the link between mother socialization and child outcomes. It was expected that these indirect paths would be stronger for older children. Participants were 95 mother-child dyads who completed a battery of questionnaires and a video-recorded discussion task that was coded for socialization and understanding of gratitude. Using Hayes' PROCESS, a moderated mediation model indicated that mother's elaboration of gratitude during the discussion task was associated with higher levels of communication skills for children through children's understanding of gratitude, with the path from children's gratitude understanding to communication being moderated by child age. In other words, mothers' socialization of gratitude led to a better understanding of gratitude for children, which then led to increased communication skills for older children specifically. These results are important because they provide evidence for the paths through which gratitude is socialized in children. As a result, this study may prompt further research and the development of gratitude interventions to increase gratitude understanding in children and ultimately, the overall well-being and social skills of individuals.

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