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Raising Grateful Children

Raising_Grateful_Children_logo_BlackGratitude is associated with many positive outcomes including more satisfying social relationships and decreased distress and mental illness in adults. However, we know very little about gratitude in children and the role that parents play in fostering gratitude in their children. In our study, Raising Grateful Children, we examine what parents do to teach their children about gratitude, how these practices impact children’s experiences of gratitude, and whether parents can learn these skills through our online program. With support from the Templeton Foundation and the Greater Good Science Center of UC Berkeley, we have followed 100 families to answer these questions.

 

If you are interested in accessing our free onling program to support parents in talking with their children about gratitude, follow this link.

Past and Present Team Members: Andrea Hussong (PI), Jennifer Coffman, Phil Costanzo, Amy Halberstadt, Hillary Langley, Irina Mokrova, Drew Rothenberg, and Taylor Thomas.

If you have any questions, are a participant and need to update your contact information, or are interested in being placed on our list of people interested in participating in future studies, please contact us at gratitude@unc.edu or call us at 919-962-8242.

 

Available Publications 

  • Hussong, A.M., Langley, H.A., Coffman, J.L., Halberstadt, A.G., & Costanzo, P.R. (2018). Parent socialization of children’s gratitude. In J. Tudge and L. Freitas (Eds.), Developing Gratitude, (pp. 199-219). Cambridge University Press.
  • Hussong, A. M., Langley, H. A., Thomas, T., Coffman, J. L., Halberstadt, A. G., Costanzo, P. R., Rothenberg, W. A. (2018). Measuring gratitude in children. Journal of Positive Psychology.
  • Hussong, A.M., Langley, H.A., Rothenberg, W.A., Coffman, J.L., Halberstadt, A.G., Costanzo, P.R., & Mokrova, I. (2018). Raising grateful children one day at a time. Applied Developmental Science. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2018.1441713
  • Rothenberg, W.A., Hussong, A.M., Langley, H.A., Egerton, G.A., Halberstadt, A.G., Coffman, J.L., Mokrova, I., & Costanzo, P.R. (2016). Grateful parents raising grateful children: Niche selection and socialization of child gratitude. Applied Developmental Science, 1-15. [Reviewed on blog post: https://childandfamilyblog.com/gratitude-parents-children/]
  • Halberstadt, A. G., Langley, H.A., Hussong, A. M., Coffman, J. L., Rothenberg, W.A., Mokrova, I., & Costanzo, P. R. (2016).  Parents’ understanding of gratitude in young children: A thematic analysis. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 26, 439-451.