The effect of gratitude interventions on the psychological well-being of a group of adolescents in Gauteng

M.A. (Clinical Psychology)Increasingly, research studies have revealed that gratitude and psychological well-being are robustly related. In addition gratitude interventions have been successful in increasing facets of well-being in adults and early adolescents. However, less is known about the effects of gratitude on middle adolescent sample groups and their eudaimonic well-being. Further, little is known about the impact that gratitude interventions will have on adolescents living in the South African context. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of a four-week gratitude intervention on the psychological well-being (PWB) of a group of middle adolescents in Gauteng, South Africa. Both state and trait gratitude were measured before the intervention as well as their levels of four facets of well-being, namely overall life satisfaction, hedonic well-being, eudaimonic well-being and the absence of pathology. These levels were measured again after the intervention had been completed. Adolescents (N=230) from two high schools were randomly allocated to either an experimental group (n=112) or control group (n=118) based on their assigned class at school. Questionnaires measuring their levels of gratitude and psychological well-being were administered to both groups before and after the intervention. The experimental group received four gratitude exercises consecutively, over a four-week period while the control group received four neutral activities over the same time frame. The data was analysed quantitatively by conducting one-tailed t-tests. In addition, a brief follow-up qualitative study was conducted to assess the participants’ subjective experiences of the intervention. The quantitative results indicated that there were no significant differences in PWB or gratitude between the two groups after the intervention. There were also no significant differences found within the experimental group when the pre- and post-test scores were compared. The qualitative results revealed that the participants found the gratitude intervention to have been enjoyable and helpful, and expressed feeling more grateful and appreciative in general. In addition, many reported that their relationships with others had improved. These findings revealed that the gratitude intervention did not yield statistically significant results however the adolescents’ subjective experience of the intervention was positive. More research is needed to understand the effect of positive psychology interventions among South African adolescents