Gratitude is an underexplored topic in youth (see Bono and Froh 2009 and Froh and Bono
2008, for reviews) with only two published studies demonstrating that gratitude interventions
tend to boost gratitude and well-being in youth (Froh et al. 2008a, 2009a). In the
current study we found that grateful adolescents attained a higher GPA, were more socially
integrated, were higher in absorption and life satisfaction, and were less envious and
depressed than their less grateful counterparts. Furthermore, the relation between gratitude
and five of these six outcomes was stronger than that of materialism with these outcomes.
When combined with previous research, a clearer picture is beginning to emerge about the
benefits of gratitude in adolescents, and thus an important gap in the literature on gratitude
and well-being is beginning to be filled.
Part of the reason why people who pursue intrinsic goals report greater well-being than
those who pursue extrinsic or materialistic goals (Kasser and Ryan 1996) is because
materialism erodes friendships (Kasser 2002). But gratitude may safeguard against this
erosion as it is related to perceived quality of relationships through both self-report (e.g.,
Wood et al. 2008) and peer-report (Algoe et al. 2008; Emmons and McCullough 2003).
Gratitude seems to influence intrinsic goal pursuit, other-oriented motivations, and the