Technology and Health Care 22 (2014) 459–466 DOI 10.3233/THC-140804 IOS Press
459
Correlates of gratitude disposition in middle school students: Gender differences Jung-hyun Choia and Mi Yub,∗ a Department
b College
of Nursing, Namseoul University, Cheonan, Korea of Nursing, Gyeongsang National University, Gyeongsang, Korea
Received 28 October 2013 Accepted 22 January 2014 Abstract. BACKGROUND: Gratitude disposition is positively associated with happiness. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to identify influencing factors on gratitude disposition by gender differences in middle school students. METHODS: Cross-sectional study using self-reported questionnaires were administered to participants (n = 372) aged between 13∼15 years in Seoul and Chungnam Province in Korea. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS18.0 statistical program, and frequency analysis and logistic regression analysis were used in the research. RESULTS: The mean score of family abuse of boys was significantly higher than girls’ score (t = 3.016, p = 0.003). In subscales of development assets, empowerment (t = 2.264, p = 0.024), boundaries and expectation (t = 2.476, p = 0.014), and commitment to learning (t = 1.971, p = 0.049) were significantly higher in boys. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that age (OR 0.334, CI 0.130∼0.862), peer relationship (OR 2.280, CI 1.124∼4.623), social support (OR 2.584, CI 1.176∼5.676), positive identity (OR 3.138, CI 1.256∼7.840) were significantly associated with gratitude disposition for boys, while school violence (OR 0.050, CI 0.003∼0.907) and positive identity (OR 2.937, CI 1.313∼6.567) were significantly associated with gratitude disposition for girls. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that it is important to protect adolescents from family abuse and school violence, furthermore, developmental assets should be developed to increase to gratitude disposition. Keywords: Gratitude disposition, middle school student, positive identity
1. Introduction Gratitude disposition is the appreciation of what is valuable and meaningful to self and represents a general state of thankfulness [1]. Expressing gratitude makes people relatively happier, more energetic, and more hopeful. It reinforces positive affect and promotes optimistic life experiences [2]. When people realize how much others have done for them, they feel more confident and efficient. Gratitude disposition is positively associated with happiness and spirituality, whereas, negatively associated with jealousy and materialism [3]. Indeed, it is hard to feel guilty or resentful or infuriated when people are feeling grateful to others. Adolescents with high gratitude disposition have an ability to find positive attributes in a negative situation, and to interpret the situation into the favorable direction [4]. There is consensus that ∗ Corresponding author: Mi Yu, College of Nursing, 900 Gajwa-dong, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Gyeongnam, 550-701, Korea. Tel.: +82 2 557 1278; E-mail: [email protected].
c 2014 – IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved 0928-7329/14/$27.50
460
J. Choi and M. Yu / Gratitude disposition in middle school students – gender differences
gratitude disposition will be trained to develop continuously in actual life. Some people naturally focus on failures or other people’s slight hurts. But practice of gratitude can help people undo this negative habit. Abused children can exhibit a variety of psychological problems, including anxiety and depression [5]. The abuse experience from parent results in a serious crisis in adolescent’s development process, and affects suicide directly or indirectly [6]. Also school violence from peers led to suicide of a student, it has become a serious social problem [7]. Peer group in the developmental stages of adolescent is very important, peer relationship appeared to be the most influential factors associated with suicidal ideation, adolescents who have experienced low intimacy and high rejection from peers have serious thoughts of suicide [8], whereas it appeared not to be a direct effect on suicidal ideation of adolescents, but indirectly affected through a sense of alienation and low self-esteem [9]. Young people are resources to be developed, not problems to be managed [10]. Developmental assets were focused on the protective approach of developing positive assets within youth, opposed to removing the risk factors focused on deficit [10]. Recent studies of gratitude disposition focus on the characteristics of those who are able to appreciate [2,3]. The literature contains little research exploring the relationship between gratitude disposition and developmental assets among adolescents in Korea. The purpose of this study was to identify the influencing factors on gratitude disposition of middle school students in Korea. 2. Methods 2.1. Design This study utilized a cross-sectional research design to investigate influencing factors on gratitude disposition of middle school students in Korea. 2.2. Sampling and data collection Self-reported questionnaires were administered to participants (n = 372) aged between 13∼15 years in Seoul and Chungnam Province in Korea. Data were collected in July, 2012, analyzed using logistic regression with PASW 18.0. 2.3. Measurement 2.3.1. Gratitude disposition Based on the work of McCullough et al. [11], Kwon et al. [12] developed and validated the Korean version of Gratitude Questionnaire which used in this study. Gratitude questionnaire is a short, self reported measure of the disposition to experience gratitude. Gratitude disposition contains 6 items to access the gratitude that felt about somebody or something in life. The items are based on a 5-point Likert scale. Higher scores indicate a higher gratitude disposition. The Cronbach’s alpha for gratitude disposition in this study was 0.85. 2.3.2. Peer relationship The Peer Relationship Scale, developed by Lee and Shin [13], was used to measure the adolescent’s perceived support from peers. There is a total of 5 items, which include the emotional support and encouragement from friends. The items are based on a 5-point Likert scale. Higher scores indicate a higher level of peer relationship. The Cronbach’s alpha for this scale in this study was 0.95.
J. Choi and M. Yu / Gratitude disposition in middle school students – gender differences
461
2.3.3. The experience of violence The experience of violence includes both the experience of parental and school violence. Parental abuse was measured by the use of the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) [14]. The CTS is designed to measure the use of reasoning, verbal aggression, and physical aggression between a parent and child. Adolescents responded to a list of questions on the frequency of mistreatment from the parents during the previous 12 months. The 8 items are based on a 4-point Likert scale. If the adolescents reported higher scores, they were classified as abused. The Cronbach’s alpha for CTS in this study was 0.89. The School Violence Scale (SVS) [15] was used to measure the level of experienced school violence. Three experts examined the validity of the scale. There is a total of 6 items, which include the questions on the experience of assault, mistreatment, bullying, and violence during the previous 12 months in school. The items are based on a 4-point Likert scale. It means higher the score, the more experience school violence. The Cronbach’s alpha for SVS in this study was 0.78. 2.3.4. Developmental assets Based on the work of Peters et al. [16], Jung [17] developed and validated the developmental asset measure which used in this study. The survey contains 46 items and measures eight developmental assets. External assets comprise a set of experiences and relationships across multiple contexts of the youth’s life that adults (and peers) provide for young people: support; empowerment; boundaries and expectations; and constructive use of time. Internal assets comprise a set of individual qualities – values, skills, and self-perceptions – thought to help the young person become effectively self-regulating: commitment to learning; positive values; social competency and positive identity. Higher scores indicate a higher level of developmental assets. In this study, the Cronbach’s alphas for the eight asset subscales are 0.87 (support), 0.77 (empowerment), 0.73 (boundaries and expectation), 0.52 (constructive use of time), 0.75 (commitment to learning), 0.78 (positive values), 0.83 (social competency), and 0.89 (positive identity). 3. Results 3.1. General characteristics The general characteristics of the study participants are shown in Table 1. The mean age of participants was 14.33 ± 0.62 years. Of the 372 participants, 194(52.5%) were boys, 178(47.5%) were girls. All respondents were middle school students, 58.3% of participants were in the first year of middle school. In living area, 56.5% of participants lived in urban, 43.5% lived in rural. Parent’s education level was as follows: 58.9% of fathers had degree above of bachelor, 56.2% of mothers had degree above of bachelor. The socio economic status (SES) of the participants is as follows: 20.4% of participants were high SES class; 73.4% of participants were middle SES class; and 6.2% of participants were low SES class. The school achievement of the participants is as follows: 21.1% of participants were high level of school achievement; 57.0% of participants were middle level of school achievement; and 21.9% of participants were low level of school achievement. In volunteer activities, 80.9% of participant has volunteer activity. Of the 372 participants, 174 (47.2%) has alcohol drinking experience, sixty one (16.6%) has experienced smoking. 3.2. Gratitude disposition, peer support, family abuse, school violence, and developmental assets by gender Table 2 shows gratitude disposition, peer relationship, family abuse, school violence and 8 subscales of developmental assets by gender. The mean score of family abuse of boys was significantly higher
462
J. Choi and M. Yu / Gratitude disposition in middle school students – gender differences Table 1 General characteristics (n = 372) Variables Age Gender
Categories
School year Ares Father’s education level Mother’ education level Socioeconomic status School achievement Volunteer activity Alcohol drinking Smoking ∗
Boy Girl 1st 2nd Urban Rural High school Bachelor High school Bachelor High Middle Low High Middle Low Yes No Yes No Yes No
n (%) 14.33 ± 0.62∗ 194(52.5) 178(47.5) 217(58.3) 155(41.7) 210(56.5) 162(43.5) 153(41.1) 219(58.9) 163(43.8) 209(56.2) 73(20.4) 262(73.4) 22(6.2) 77(21.1) 208(57.0) 80(21.9) 301(80.9) 71(19.1) 174(47.2) 195(52.8) 61(16.6) 306(83.4)
: Mean ± SD, No responses are excluded.
Table 2 Gratitude disposition, peer support, family abuse, school violence, and developmental assets by gender Variables Gratitude disposition Peer relationship Family abuse School violence Developmental Assets(total) Social support Empowerment Boundaries and expectation Constructive use of time Commitment to learning Positive values Social competencies Positive identity
Boys Mean ± SD 3.59 ± 0.77 3.64 ± 0.84 1.36 ± 0.49 1.08 ± 0.21 3.47 ± 0.60 3.61 ± 0.78 3.23 ± 0.68 3.62 ± 0.75 3.00 ± 0.86 3.31 ± 0.75 3.62 ± 0.64 3.51 ± 0.72 3.72 ± 0.77
Girls Mean ± SD 3.57 ± 0.69 3.79 ± 0.79 1.23 ± 0.36 1.09 ± 0.20 3.39 ± 0.57 3.50 ± 0.85 3.07 ± 0.68 3.44 ± 0.64 2.96 ± 0.82 3.15 ± 0.76 3.58 ± 0.63 3.58 ± 0.67 3.65 ± 0.75
t(p) 0.237(0.813) −1.821(0.069) 3.016(0.003) −0.816(0.415) 1.330(0.184) 1.313(0.190) 2.264(0.024) 2.475(0.014) 0.435(0.664) 1.971(0.049) 0.673(0.501) −0.958(0.339) 0.875(0.382)
than girls (t = 3.016, p = 0.003). In subscales of development assets, boys were significantly higher in empowerment (t = 2.264, p = 0.024), boundaries and expectation (t = 2.476, p = 0.014), and commitment to learning (t = 1.971, p = 0.049). 3.3. Gratitude disposition according to general characteristics Table 3 shows gratitude disposition according to general characteristics by gender. The degree of gratitude disposition was divided into high and low level according to mean score, 3.59 point for boys
J. Choi and M. Yu / Gratitude disposition in middle school students – gender differences
463
Table 3 Gratitude disposition according to general characteristics (n = 372) Variables
Categories
School year
1st 2nd
Living area
Urban Rural
Father’s education level
High school Bachelor
Mother’ education level
High school Bachelor
Socioeconomic status
High Middle Low
School achievement
High Middle Low
Volunteer activity
Yes No
Alcohol drinking
Yes No
Smoking
Yes No
Boys High Low 70(55.1) 57(44.9) 16(23.9) 51(76.1) χ2 (p) = 17.342(
459
Correlates of gratitude disposition in middle school students: Gender differences Jung-hyun Choia and Mi Yub,∗ a Department
b College
of Nursing, Namseoul University, Cheonan, Korea of Nursing, Gyeongsang National University, Gyeongsang, Korea
Received 28 October 2013 Accepted 22 January 2014 Abstract. BACKGROUND: Gratitude disposition is positively associated with happiness. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to identify influencing factors on gratitude disposition by gender differences in middle school students. METHODS: Cross-sectional study using self-reported questionnaires were administered to participants (n = 372) aged between 13∼15 years in Seoul and Chungnam Province in Korea. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS18.0 statistical program, and frequency analysis and logistic regression analysis were used in the research. RESULTS: The mean score of family abuse of boys was significantly higher than girls’ score (t = 3.016, p = 0.003). In subscales of development assets, empowerment (t = 2.264, p = 0.024), boundaries and expectation (t = 2.476, p = 0.014), and commitment to learning (t = 1.971, p = 0.049) were significantly higher in boys. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that age (OR 0.334, CI 0.130∼0.862), peer relationship (OR 2.280, CI 1.124∼4.623), social support (OR 2.584, CI 1.176∼5.676), positive identity (OR 3.138, CI 1.256∼7.840) were significantly associated with gratitude disposition for boys, while school violence (OR 0.050, CI 0.003∼0.907) and positive identity (OR 2.937, CI 1.313∼6.567) were significantly associated with gratitude disposition for girls. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that it is important to protect adolescents from family abuse and school violence, furthermore, developmental assets should be developed to increase to gratitude disposition. Keywords: Gratitude disposition, middle school student, positive identity
1. Introduction Gratitude disposition is the appreciation of what is valuable and meaningful to self and represents a general state of thankfulness [1]. Expressing gratitude makes people relatively happier, more energetic, and more hopeful. It reinforces positive affect and promotes optimistic life experiences [2]. When people realize how much others have done for them, they feel more confident and efficient. Gratitude disposition is positively associated with happiness and spirituality, whereas, negatively associated with jealousy and materialism [3]. Indeed, it is hard to feel guilty or resentful or infuriated when people are feeling grateful to others. Adolescents with high gratitude disposition have an ability to find positive attributes in a negative situation, and to interpret the situation into the favorable direction [4]. There is consensus that ∗ Corresponding author: Mi Yu, College of Nursing, 900 Gajwa-dong, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Gyeongnam, 550-701, Korea. Tel.: +82 2 557 1278; E-mail: [email protected].
c 2014 – IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved 0928-7329/14/$27.50
460
J. Choi and M. Yu / Gratitude disposition in middle school students – gender differences
gratitude disposition will be trained to develop continuously in actual life. Some people naturally focus on failures or other people’s slight hurts. But practice of gratitude can help people undo this negative habit. Abused children can exhibit a variety of psychological problems, including anxiety and depression [5]. The abuse experience from parent results in a serious crisis in adolescent’s development process, and affects suicide directly or indirectly [6]. Also school violence from peers led to suicide of a student, it has become a serious social problem [7]. Peer group in the developmental stages of adolescent is very important, peer relationship appeared to be the most influential factors associated with suicidal ideation, adolescents who have experienced low intimacy and high rejection from peers have serious thoughts of suicide [8], whereas it appeared not to be a direct effect on suicidal ideation of adolescents, but indirectly affected through a sense of alienation and low self-esteem [9]. Young people are resources to be developed, not problems to be managed [10]. Developmental assets were focused on the protective approach of developing positive assets within youth, opposed to removing the risk factors focused on deficit [10]. Recent studies of gratitude disposition focus on the characteristics of those who are able to appreciate [2,3]. The literature contains little research exploring the relationship between gratitude disposition and developmental assets among adolescents in Korea. The purpose of this study was to identify the influencing factors on gratitude disposition of middle school students in Korea. 2. Methods 2.1. Design This study utilized a cross-sectional research design to investigate influencing factors on gratitude disposition of middle school students in Korea. 2.2. Sampling and data collection Self-reported questionnaires were administered to participants (n = 372) aged between 13∼15 years in Seoul and Chungnam Province in Korea. Data were collected in July, 2012, analyzed using logistic regression with PASW 18.0. 2.3. Measurement 2.3.1. Gratitude disposition Based on the work of McCullough et al. [11], Kwon et al. [12] developed and validated the Korean version of Gratitude Questionnaire which used in this study. Gratitude questionnaire is a short, self reported measure of the disposition to experience gratitude. Gratitude disposition contains 6 items to access the gratitude that felt about somebody or something in life. The items are based on a 5-point Likert scale. Higher scores indicate a higher gratitude disposition. The Cronbach’s alpha for gratitude disposition in this study was 0.85. 2.3.2. Peer relationship The Peer Relationship Scale, developed by Lee and Shin [13], was used to measure the adolescent’s perceived support from peers. There is a total of 5 items, which include the emotional support and encouragement from friends. The items are based on a 5-point Likert scale. Higher scores indicate a higher level of peer relationship. The Cronbach’s alpha for this scale in this study was 0.95.
J. Choi and M. Yu / Gratitude disposition in middle school students – gender differences
461
2.3.3. The experience of violence The experience of violence includes both the experience of parental and school violence. Parental abuse was measured by the use of the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) [14]. The CTS is designed to measure the use of reasoning, verbal aggression, and physical aggression between a parent and child. Adolescents responded to a list of questions on the frequency of mistreatment from the parents during the previous 12 months. The 8 items are based on a 4-point Likert scale. If the adolescents reported higher scores, they were classified as abused. The Cronbach’s alpha for CTS in this study was 0.89. The School Violence Scale (SVS) [15] was used to measure the level of experienced school violence. Three experts examined the validity of the scale. There is a total of 6 items, which include the questions on the experience of assault, mistreatment, bullying, and violence during the previous 12 months in school. The items are based on a 4-point Likert scale. It means higher the score, the more experience school violence. The Cronbach’s alpha for SVS in this study was 0.78. 2.3.4. Developmental assets Based on the work of Peters et al. [16], Jung [17] developed and validated the developmental asset measure which used in this study. The survey contains 46 items and measures eight developmental assets. External assets comprise a set of experiences and relationships across multiple contexts of the youth’s life that adults (and peers) provide for young people: support; empowerment; boundaries and expectations; and constructive use of time. Internal assets comprise a set of individual qualities – values, skills, and self-perceptions – thought to help the young person become effectively self-regulating: commitment to learning; positive values; social competency and positive identity. Higher scores indicate a higher level of developmental assets. In this study, the Cronbach’s alphas for the eight asset subscales are 0.87 (support), 0.77 (empowerment), 0.73 (boundaries and expectation), 0.52 (constructive use of time), 0.75 (commitment to learning), 0.78 (positive values), 0.83 (social competency), and 0.89 (positive identity). 3. Results 3.1. General characteristics The general characteristics of the study participants are shown in Table 1. The mean age of participants was 14.33 ± 0.62 years. Of the 372 participants, 194(52.5%) were boys, 178(47.5%) were girls. All respondents were middle school students, 58.3% of participants were in the first year of middle school. In living area, 56.5% of participants lived in urban, 43.5% lived in rural. Parent’s education level was as follows: 58.9% of fathers had degree above of bachelor, 56.2% of mothers had degree above of bachelor. The socio economic status (SES) of the participants is as follows: 20.4% of participants were high SES class; 73.4% of participants were middle SES class; and 6.2% of participants were low SES class. The school achievement of the participants is as follows: 21.1% of participants were high level of school achievement; 57.0% of participants were middle level of school achievement; and 21.9% of participants were low level of school achievement. In volunteer activities, 80.9% of participant has volunteer activity. Of the 372 participants, 174 (47.2%) has alcohol drinking experience, sixty one (16.6%) has experienced smoking. 3.2. Gratitude disposition, peer support, family abuse, school violence, and developmental assets by gender Table 2 shows gratitude disposition, peer relationship, family abuse, school violence and 8 subscales of developmental assets by gender. The mean score of family abuse of boys was significantly higher
462
J. Choi and M. Yu / Gratitude disposition in middle school students – gender differences Table 1 General characteristics (n = 372) Variables Age Gender
Categories
School year Ares Father’s education level Mother’ education level Socioeconomic status School achievement Volunteer activity Alcohol drinking Smoking ∗
Boy Girl 1st 2nd Urban Rural High school Bachelor High school Bachelor High Middle Low High Middle Low Yes No Yes No Yes No
n (%) 14.33 ± 0.62∗ 194(52.5) 178(47.5) 217(58.3) 155(41.7) 210(56.5) 162(43.5) 153(41.1) 219(58.9) 163(43.8) 209(56.2) 73(20.4) 262(73.4) 22(6.2) 77(21.1) 208(57.0) 80(21.9) 301(80.9) 71(19.1) 174(47.2) 195(52.8) 61(16.6) 306(83.4)
: Mean ± SD, No responses are excluded.
Table 2 Gratitude disposition, peer support, family abuse, school violence, and developmental assets by gender Variables Gratitude disposition Peer relationship Family abuse School violence Developmental Assets(total) Social support Empowerment Boundaries and expectation Constructive use of time Commitment to learning Positive values Social competencies Positive identity
Boys Mean ± SD 3.59 ± 0.77 3.64 ± 0.84 1.36 ± 0.49 1.08 ± 0.21 3.47 ± 0.60 3.61 ± 0.78 3.23 ± 0.68 3.62 ± 0.75 3.00 ± 0.86 3.31 ± 0.75 3.62 ± 0.64 3.51 ± 0.72 3.72 ± 0.77
Girls Mean ± SD 3.57 ± 0.69 3.79 ± 0.79 1.23 ± 0.36 1.09 ± 0.20 3.39 ± 0.57 3.50 ± 0.85 3.07 ± 0.68 3.44 ± 0.64 2.96 ± 0.82 3.15 ± 0.76 3.58 ± 0.63 3.58 ± 0.67 3.65 ± 0.75
t(p) 0.237(0.813) −1.821(0.069) 3.016(0.003) −0.816(0.415) 1.330(0.184) 1.313(0.190) 2.264(0.024) 2.475(0.014) 0.435(0.664) 1.971(0.049) 0.673(0.501) −0.958(0.339) 0.875(0.382)
than girls (t = 3.016, p = 0.003). In subscales of development assets, boys were significantly higher in empowerment (t = 2.264, p = 0.024), boundaries and expectation (t = 2.476, p = 0.014), and commitment to learning (t = 1.971, p = 0.049). 3.3. Gratitude disposition according to general characteristics Table 3 shows gratitude disposition according to general characteristics by gender. The degree of gratitude disposition was divided into high and low level according to mean score, 3.59 point for boys
J. Choi and M. Yu / Gratitude disposition in middle school students – gender differences
463
Table 3 Gratitude disposition according to general characteristics (n = 372) Variables
Categories
School year
1st 2nd
Living area
Urban Rural
Father’s education level
High school Bachelor
Mother’ education level
High school Bachelor
Socioeconomic status
High Middle Low
School achievement
High Middle Low
Volunteer activity
Yes No
Alcohol drinking
Yes No
Smoking
Yes No
Boys High Low 70(55.1) 57(44.9) 16(23.9) 51(76.1) χ2 (p) = 17.342(
