ABSTRACT
Over two decades of research demonstrates the psychology behind gratitude’s role in human well-being and thriving. However, much of the evidence rests on research with adults, seriously limiting the empirical understanding of gratitude as a transformational behavior in human development. In the last several years research has started to show that gratitude has many similar benefits with youth as it does with adults, but a developmental theory of gratitude largely remains empirically uncharted. This chapter thus has two main goals: (i) to provide a comprehensive summary of recent research on gratitude among youth as well as of other research findings relevant to the development of gratitude; and (ii) to outline guiding principles that parents, teachers, and other adults can use to instill gratitude in children and adolescents.
