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PERSPECTIVE article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Positive Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1476511

Stronger Together: Perspectives on Gratitude Social Processes in Group Interventions for Adolescents

Provisionally accepted
Y. Joel Wong Y. Joel Wong *Alexis L. Pandelios Alexis L. Pandelios Kane Karlock Kane Karlock Alexandria Thielmeyer Alexandria Thielmeyer
  • Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Most gratitude interventions for adolescents emphasize private experiences of gratitude (e.g., gratitude journaling), dyadic expressions of gratitude (e.g., writing a gratitude letter to another person), or group-based psychoeducation about gratitude. By contrast, group interventions that emphasize gratitude social processes (GSPs)-interpersonal or group processes that involve or are directly triggered by the disclosure or expression of gratitude to other group members-provide an ideal forum for adolescents to reap the full benefits of gratitude experiences. In this perspective article, we propose a typology of five GSPs-disclosing, expressing, receiving, responding to, and witnessing gratitude in relation to other group members-that operate synergistically to produce positive effects for adolescents. In turn, we theorize that these GSPs likely produce superior outcomes, as compared to other gratitude interventions, through five psychosocial mechanisms of change: observational learning, group cohesion, vicarious gratitude, group-based gratitude, and collective gratitude. Overall, we encourage researchers and practitioners to incorporate GSPs in their gratitude interventions with adolescents.

    Keywords: Gratitude, adolescents, social, group, Interventions

    Received: 05 Aug 2024; Accepted: 01 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wong, Pandelios, Karlock and Thielmeyer. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Y. Joel Wong, Indiana University, Bloomington, 47405, Indiana, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.