Gratitude, Social Cognition, and Well-Being in Emerging Adolescents

Abstract

The authors explored Canadian emerging adolescents' social and moral reasoning skills (empathy, theory of mind), and their perceptions of gratitude, self-competencies, and well-being (spiritual, emotional). As part of a larger five-year longitudinal study, the authors describe results of Year 2 (2016–2017) data from 46 ninth-grade students (33 girls; Mage = 13.5 years, SD = 5.436 years) from eight schools (Ontario, Canada). Students’ perceptions of gratitude, spirituality, self-compassion, competencies, and well-being were measured by self-report questionnaires. Significant positive correlations were found among adolescents’ perceptions of gratitude, self-competencies, and emotional and spiritual well-being. Differently valenced patterns of associations were found among students’ perceptions of gratitude (appreciation for others and sense of abundance), self-compassion, and existential well-being, and spiritual comfort, and omnipresence. Simple appreciation was the only aspect of gratitude to show significant positive relations with religious well-being. Significant positive correlations were found between gratitude (sense of abundance) and self-compassion, whereas significant negative correlations were found between self-compassion and empathy, theory of mind, existential well-being, and religious well-being. Implications for theory and educational applications are discussed.