Adolescents who reported grateful moods indicated greater subjective well-being, optimism,
prosocial behavior, gratitude in response to aid, and social support. Thus, gratitude is likely an
important ingredient for adolescent flourishing. But contrary to prior research (McCullough
et al., 2002; Watkins et al., 2003), gratitude was unrelated to negative affect. Because pathology
and flourishing are separable constructs (Keyes, 2007) gratitude interventions may enhance
adolescent well-being, without necessarily relieving pain and distress. Froh et al. (2008), however,
found that counting blessings was unrelated with increased positive affect, but was related with