Gratitude Interventions and its Applications in Youth

To date, nearly half of the work supporting the efficacy of gratitude interventions did so by making contrasts with techniques that induce negative affect(e.g.,record your daily hassles). Gratitude interventions in youth consistently boost, and maintain, positive benefits. Gratitude interventions lead to greater gratitude, life satisfaction, optimism, prosocial behavior, positive affect, well-being, as well as decreased negative affect. Experiencing and expressing gratitude can help improve youth moods, strengthen their social ties, and cultivate a sense of purposeful engagement with the world. Though such experiences are critical for healthy development, research on gratitude in youth or the development of gratitude is only now emerging. In this paper, we review recent research on the benefits of gratitude to individuals, especially youth, and the interventions that have been empirically shown to foster gratitude in youth. The paper highlights three categories of gratitude interventions: (a) counting blessings, (b) the gratitude visit, and (c) learning schematic help appraisals. We conclude by suggesting potential ways gratitude can be applied in schools to help boost students'social and academic success.