The Relationship Between Gratitude and Well-Being in Graduate Level Counselors-in-Training by Brandon Rex Browning A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Auburn University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Auburn, Alabama December 8, 2012 Keywords: Counselor, Appreciation, Gratitude, Thankfulness, Well-being, Wellness Copyright 2012 by Brandon Rex Browning Approved by Suhyun P. Suh, Chair, Associate Professor of Special Education, Rehabilitation, and Counseling John C. Dagley, Associate Professor of Special Education, Rehabilitation, and Counseling Chippewa M. Thomas, Associate Professor of Special Education, Rehabilitation, and Counseling ii Abstract This study was conducted to determine if the relationship between gratitude and well- being found in the general population exists for counselors-in-training and to determine the nature of this relationship. This study utilized three measures of gratitude which Wood et al. (2008) has previously asserted captures eight domains of gratitude giving a more comprehensive assessment of this construct. These domains were analyzed as to their relationship with two well-being measures, namely the Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF) by Keyes (2009) and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) by Diener, Emmons, Larsen, and Griffin (1985) to capture a broad picture of counseling student well-being. This study involved 122 masters and doctoral students from 25 states, primarily from the South Eastern United States, who responded to an online survey. This study found that counseling students? well-being and gratitude scores showed average to high well-being and gratitude. A significant relationship was found between counseling student gratitude and well-being. Four dimensions of gratitude were found to be significant predictors of well-being as measured by both the MHC-SF and the SWLS. Females scored higher on all three gratitude measures but this was only significantly higher for the GRAT-SF measure. Caucasians and African Americans were not significantly different in gratitude on the three gratitude measures. Implications for counselor education are discussed, and recommendations for future research are included. iii Acknowledgments Researching this topic has brought with it an ever growing awareness and appreciation for the dependence that I, as a developing counselor educator and researcher, have on others. With this increased awareness comes a knowledge that one can never adequately express this gratitude to those who deserve it. This work and my development as a person are owed to so many people. First, I would like to thank my sweet wife, Patrice, who has with great patience supported me through this process by carrying loads that I was not there to carry and supporting me in carrying loads that she did not have to. I believe my greatest accomplishment to this point in my life is not this dissertation, but rather the realization that she and I have grown closer and stronger through this process rather than further apart. Thank you for all of your editing, questioning, critiquing and support in starting and working through this whole adventure. In the same vein I would like to thank my sweet children Megan, Kaitlyn, Hannah and Matthew who have cheered me on with notes, hugs, words of support and most recently prayers such as four year old Hannah?s where she said ?and bless Dad with his insertation that he will get done soon because I really love him and he loves me.? Additionally, I would like to thank Dr. Suhyun Suh, who has with great patience mentored me through my learning process, which for me, has created much more than a research project and paper, but assisted in facilitating my love of learning and exploration and has given me the tools to find expression of this love. iv My thanks are also owed to Dr. Chippewa Thomas and Dr. John Dagley, who have pushed me to expand my view of a topic and its potential while assisting to boost my confidence that I am up to the task. Lastly, I would like to thank my friend Robert Bubb who has tirelessly tutored my learning in better applying statistical analysis to this topic and also to his wife for dealing with his absence as he assisted me. v Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................ iii List of Tables ............................................................................................................................. viii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1 Significance....................................................................................................................... 2 Purpose of the Study ......................................................................................................... 4 Research Questions ......................................................................................................... 5 Definition of Terms........................................................................................................... 6 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 8 Chapter 2. LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................... 9 Gratitude ........................................................................................................................... 9 Gratitude and Appreciation ................................................................................... 9 Gratitude and Altruism ....................................................................................... 11 Gratitude and Religion ........................................................................................ 11 Gratitude and Society .......................................................................................... 13 Gratitude and Diverse Populations ..................................................................... 13 Gratitude and Developmental Theory ............................................................................. 16 Counselor Development Theory ......................................................................... 16 Gratitude and Developmental Theory ................................................................. 19 vi Gratitude and Moral Development ..................................................................... 21 Well-being....................................................................................................................... 23 Wellness vs. Well-being ..................................................................................... 23 Positive Psychology ............................................................................................ 24 Changing Well-being .......................................................................................... 26 Relationship between Gratitude and Well-being ............................................................ 28 Effect of Gratitude Interventions ........................................................................ 30 Gratitude Interventions ....................................................................................... 32 Summary ......................................................................................................................... 34 Chapter 3. METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................... 36 Research Questions ....................................................................................................... 36 Participants ...................................................................................................................... 37 Research Methods ........................................................................................................... 37 Measures ......................................................................................................................... 39 Gratitude Questionnaire ? Six Item Form (GQ6) ............................................... 39 Gratitude Resentment, Appreciation Test-Short Form (GRAT-Short Form) ..... 40 Appreciation Scale .............................................................................................. 40 Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF) ............................................. 41 Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) ................................................................ 43 Data Analysis .................................................................................................................. 44 Summary ......................................................................................................................... 44 Chapter 4. RESULTS.................................................................................................................. 45 Assessment of Measure Reliability ................................................................................. 45 vii Participants? Demographic Information ......................................................................... 46 Results of Statistical Analysis ......................................................................................... 47 Research Question 1 ........................................................................................... 47 Research Question 2 ........................................................................................... 48 Research Question 3 ........................................................................................... 48 Research Question 4 ........................................................................................... 49 Research Question 5 ........................................................................................... 50 Research Question 6 ........................................................................................... 51 Research Question 7 ........................................................................................... 52 Summary ........................................................................................................................ 54 Chapter 5. DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................... 56 Discussion of the Findings .............................................................................................. 56 Limitations ...................................................................................................................... 62 Implications and Recommendations for Future Research .............................................. 63 References ................................................................................................................................... 70 Appendices ................................................................................................................................ 92 Appendix 1 - Request for participation letters ................................................................ 92 Appendix 2 - Informed Consent ..................................................................................... 94 Appendix 3 ? Permission to use measures ...................................................................... 96 viii List of Tables Table 1 Chronbach?s Alpha Reliability Analysis of Measures ................................................... 45 Table 2 Race/Ethnicity Demographics ....................................................................................... 47 Table 3 Well-being Descriptive Statistics ................................................................................... 47 Table 4 MHC-SF Score Dispersion ............................................................................................ 48 Table 5 SWLS Score Dispersion ................................................................................................ 48 Table 6 Correlation Analysis of Well-being and Gratitude Measures ........................................ 49 Table 7 Regression Analysis of MHC sub-scales as Predictor of MHC-SF ............................... 49 Table 8 Regression Analysis of MHC Sub-scales as Predictors of SWLS................................. 50 Table 9 Combined 8 Gratitude Scales as Predictors of SWLS ................................................... 51 Table 10 Combined 8 Gratitude Scales as Predictors of MHC-SF ............................................. 51 Table 11 Eight Gratitude and Three MHC-SF Scale Correlations ............................................. 52 Table 12 Gratitude by Demographics ......................................................................................... 53 Table 13Demographic and Developmental Correlations with Gratitude Measures ................... 54 1 Chapter 1 Introduction ?Gratitude is not only the greatest of all virtues, but the parent of all others? (Cicero, 1851, p. 139) Counselor educators are challenged to select quality candidates for their programs, provide proper courses of study to the selected students, and evaluate their performance with rigorous measures to develop highly effective counselors. Together these tasks create an incredible challenge that can be overwhelming. First, selecting students who will perform well both academically and clinically is a challenge for counselor education programs. To date, little progress has been made in the selection of counseling students who have a good likelihood of being a successful counselor (Markert & Monke, 1990; Smaby, Maddux, Richmond, Lepkowski, & Packman, 2005). Most programs focus on a limited number of criteria upon which they base their selection of students. The common criteria include Graduate Record Examination scores, undergraduate grade point averages, letters of recommendation, essays, and interviews. These have been found to only have a low positive correlation with academic performance and academic skills (Markert & Monke, 1990). Effective ways to enhance personal development of students are also lacking as are strategies for evaluating this personal growth (Bradey & Post, 1991; Hensley, Smith, & Thompson, 2003). These are critical in that the aim of counselor education programs is to develop competent and resilient counselors. If counselor educators are not able to accurately measure progress, then it is impossible to know if goals and objectives are being met. 2 Furthermore, impairment and/or burnout (Jenkins, Mitchell, Baird, Whitfield, & Meyer, 2011; Paradise, 1983; Wilkerson & Bellini, 2006) continue to be problems in the counseling profession (Lawson, 2007; Young & Lambie, 2007). Impaired counselors are more likely to harm clients (Lawson, 2007). Counselors with higher well-being are more likely to positively affect clients (Hill, 2004; Witmer & Granello, 2005). As a result, counselor wellness has been stressed as a needed area of emphasis by governing bodies associated with the training of counseling profession (American Counseling Association, 2005; Council for Accreditation of Counselingand Related Educational Programs, 2009). However, changes in training for counselor wellness have not been properly addressed since these standards have been implemented (Roach & Young, 2007). A group called, 20/20: A Vision for the Future of Counseling (American Counseling Association, 2011), was given the charge of coming to a collective definition of counseling that could unite the counseling profession. They identified promoting optimum health and wellness for those served as the ultimate goal of all counseling interventions. It then should not be a large leap to assume that we would attempt to facilitate this same objective in those counselors-in-training who will be working to establish wellness in their clients. Significance of the Study Counselor educators are constantly challenged to select good candidates for their programs and then to prepare them to provide quality services to their clients (Roach & Young, 2007). Once trained, counselors are required to monitor their level of effectiveness with clients and to be mindful of potential impairment in their helping abilities. Facing these challenges, it is useful to have an understanding of the level of well-being of counselors-in-training and the factors that contribute to their well-being. This study extends research that has been applied to 3 the general population to counselors-in-training. No studies were found to have looked at the relationship between gratitude, a factor related to well-being for general populations, and well- being in counselors-in-training. Given that gratitude is taught and valued by almost all societies one might wonder then, if it is so prevalently taught, what is the usefulness of an exploration of it in counselors? If everyone already believes it is nice or good to express or feel gratitude, why waste time teaching something that is already taught to children from their early childhood? This researcher argues that first, it is useful because it is valued to some degree by almost all people and so to ignore it is to ignore a major principal or practice embraced to some degree by almost everyone. Although gratitude has been lauded as a critical character trait throughout recorded history, a serious exploration of its nature and contributions has only recently taken place. The field of positive psychology has done most of this research and this researcher found no articles related to exploring or utilizing gratitude in the counseling profession. Second, gratitude and its relationship to well-being are worth exploring because gratitude has been found to have a significant relationship to many aspects of health and well-being (Boehm, Lyubomirsky, & Sheldon, 2011; Emmons & McCullough, 2003; Wood, Joseph, & Maltby, 2009; Wood, Maltby, Gillett, Linley, & Joseph, 2008a). Third, the degree to which a person experiences feelings of gratitude and the degree to which they express gratitude can be influenced through simple interventions that increase gratitude and then influence well-being (Boehm et al., 2011; Emmons, 2008; Emmons & McCullough, 2003; Froh, Sefick, & Emmons, 2008; Lambert, Fincham, Braithwaite, Graham, & Beach, 2009; Sheldon & Lyubomirsky, 2006). Given that counselor educators have been encouraged to incorporate wellness training of counselors into their curriculum, ("CACREP accrediation manual: The 2009 standards," 2009) 4 defining ways to address this is necessary. Additionally, with the emphasis on getting counselors to embrace principles of advocacy in their counseling practice, identifying factors that may assist in developing advocacy competency in counselors can also be useful. Gratitude has been shown to be related to higher levels of altruistic and pro-social behaviors (Bartlett & DeSteno, 2006; McCullough, Kimeldorf, & Cohen, 2008; Wood, Maltby, Stewart, Linley, & Joseph, 2008c) which may contribute to a counselor?s predisposition to be engaged in advocacy. Additionally, given the fact that gratitude exercises have been shown to be able to increase feelings and expressions of gratitude in subjects (Emmons & McCullough, 2003; McCullough, Emmons, & Tsang, 2002; McCullough, Tsang, & Emmons, 2004), this study may have implications for counselors-in-training as well as practicing counselors in identifying ways to develop and maintain attitudes and behaviors of gratitude. In doing so, counselors may be able to maintain their well-being more effectively and consequently benefit their client?s well- being. Purpose of the Study This study is being conducted for the following reasons. First, it has been asserted that a person?s level of gratitude affects a person?s well-being (Adler & Fagley, 2005; Bono & McCullough, 2006; Emmons & McCullough, 2003; Kashdan, Uswatte, & Julian, 2006; Watkins, Woodward, Stone, & Kolts, 2003; Wood et al., 2009; Wood et al., 2008a). Like client well- being, counselor well-being must be a concern if the profession is to maintain healthy, high functioning counselors who can be present with their clients so that they get the best counseling they can. Therefore, this study aimed to determine if the relationship between gratitude and well-being found in the general population exists for counselors-in-training as well. 5 Second, Keyes (2002) has identified three major areas of well-being, social, psychological and emotional, that contribute to a person?s overall well-being. This study aimed to determine if there is a significant difference in counseling students? well-being in these three areas. Third, eight diverse aspects of gratitude have been evidenced to be lesser constructs related to the larger construct of gratitude (Wood, Froh, & Geraghty, 2010). This study aimed to determine which of these aspects are most closely related to counseling students? overall well- being so that specific strategies may be developed or utilized to enhance the development of gratitude and well-being. Fourth no study has looked at the relationship that each of the eight diverse aspects of gratitude has to the three different areas of well-being identified by Keyes. This study aimed to better understand this relationship. Lastly, this study is being conducted to expand the knowledge of counselor educators in relation to well-being and gratitude and to add new information to existing literature in an area that has not been well investigated. Research Questions 1. What is the overall level of well-being in counselors-in-training? 2. What is the overall level of gratitude in counselors-in-training? 3. Is there a significant relationship between level of gratitude and level of self-reported well-being for the counselors-in-training? 4. Are there differences in the three domains of psychological well-being, emotional well- being, and social well-being in predicting overall well-being for counselors-in-training? 6 5. Are there differences in the eight diverse aspects of gratitude in predicting overall well- being for counselors-in-training? 6. Is there a significant relationship between the diverse aspects of gratitude (grateful affect, appreciation of other people, focus on what the person has, awe, behavior, present moment, life is short, and positive social comparison) and the three domains of well- being (social, psychological, and emotional)? 7. Is there a significant relationship between counseling student?s demographic background (gender and ethnicity) and developmental indicators (such as age, time in program, and doctoral or master?s level training) and measures of gratitude? Definition of Terms Gratitude: This study will identify gratitude as explained by each of the diverse aspects defined in Wood et al.?s (2008b) analysis of the higher order life orientation of gratitude because it captures the complexity of the concept of gratitude. Specifically, gratitude was identified by the following eight domains: ? A feeling or expression of appreciation for the altruistic behaviors of other people towards themselves and others. ? A focus on what a person has rather than what they do not have. ? A feeling of awe when encountering beauty. ? Actions of reciprocation, or passing it forward to others for benefits one has received. ? Focusing on the positive in the present moment. ? A sense of appreciation rising from understanding life is short. ? Fair and positive social comparisons between self and others. ? Individual differences in the experience of grateful affect. 7 Well-being: For the purpose of this study, when referring to well-being, this will refer to subjective well-being. Subjective well-being (SWB) refers to an individual?s perceptions and evaluations of their own lives in terms of their affective states and their psychological and social functioning (Keyes, 2002). It is not just measured in terms of the lack of problems or illness, but is seen as adapting well and flourishing within the context one is in. It also means taking an active role in directing one?s life, feelings and effect on the world around them in valuable ways to themselves and others. Diener, Sandvik, and Pavot (2009) also emphasize that well-being is not determined so much by the intensity of our positive experiences but more by their frequency. Keyes (2002) argues that there are three major aspects of well-being namely social, emotional, and psychological well-being. This structure has been validated (Gallagher, Lopez, & Preacher, 2009) and it has also been found in this same study that there is a hierarchical structure to well- being. Social well-being: This can be defined by the degree to which a person sees themselves as having healthy, meaningful and lasting relations with others. Keyes (2002) argues that there are five dimensions to social well-being. These include social coherence, social actualization, social integration, social acceptance, and social contribution. Keyes (2002) explains this further stating, ? Individuals are functioning well when they see society as meaningful and understandable, when they see society as possessing potential for growth, when they feel they belong to and are accepted by their communities, when they accept most parts of society, and when they see themselves contributing to society? (2002, p. 209) . 8 Emotional well-being: This is indicated by the presence of positive affect and the absence of negative affect combined with a perceived satisfaction with life (Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999). Psychological well-being: As defined by Ryff (1989, 1995), psychological well-being consists of a person?s perception of their life in six areas: self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth. This six factor structure of psychological well-being has also been validated by another study (Gallagher, Lopez, & Preacher, 2009). Summary Counselor education is based in a wellness model of human capacity. This study aims to capture aspects of wellness as expressed by measure of well-being. In addition it strives to determine what relation the construct of gratitude has to the level of well-being in counselors in training. This section has outlined a comprehensive definition of gratitude and aspects of subjective well-being. It has outlined the significance of this study by identifying the significant relationship that gratitude has been shown to have with well-being in the general population and the lack of research in this area for the counseling profession. This study is conducted in an effort to identify tools that may assist in counseling student selection and in the monitoring and enhancing of counseling students? well-being. 9 Chapter 2 Literature Review Gratitude is not a new concept for most people. Most people were taught to be thankful and express gratitude from the time they were able to talk. Along with teaching their children to share parents teach their children to say thank you for gifts given or service rendered at an early age. This is a concept and practice that crosses almost all cultures, races and geographic boundaries. How humans came to express gratitude is up for debate but almost all people recognize it as a positive trait and ingratitude among the worst of character flaws. Gratitude Gratitude and Appreciation Within the field of gratitude research there is little agreement about the nature of gratitude as a construct. It has been identified as an emotion (Wood et al., 2008c), a moral affect (DeSteno, Bartlett, Baumann, Williams, & Dickens, 2010; McCullough, Kilpatrick, Emmons, & Larson, 2001), a behavior that is a social exchange of indebtedness (Bartlett & DeSteno, 2006), a personality trait (Wood et al., 2008b) and a state of being (McCullough et al., 2002). To confuse things further the terms gratitude, appreciation and thankfulness are often used interchangeably in the English language and so have also been linked to each other in the research literature. For instance, Peterson and Seligman (2004) narrowly define gratitude as ?a sense of thankfulness and joy in response to receiving a gift, whether the gift be a tangible benefit from a specific other or a moment of peaceful bliss evoked by natural beauty? (2004, p. 554). The complexity of defining gratitude is confounded further by the fact that some measures of gratitude have 10 included appreciation as one of the facets of gratitude (Diessner & Lewis, 2007; Watkins et al., 2003) while some measures of appreciation have included gratitude as a facet of appreciation. In light of the confusion regarding the definition of gratitude Wood et al.?s (2010) recent research concerning gratitude is timely and instructive. Wood and colleagues (2008b) compared three instruments that have been created to measure gratitude and appreciation and found that each of the three measures analyzed represented different aspects of a higher order life orientation view. In this study they identified a model of gratitude that incorporated the feelings and actions reflecting the gratitude one experiences in response to help from others while also measuring the habitual focusing on and appreciating the positive aspects of life. This paper will identify gratitude as explained by each of the diverse aspects defined in Wood et al.?s (2008b) analysis of the higher order life orientation of gratitude because it captures the complexity of the concept of gratitude. Specifically, gratitude was identified by the following eight domains: ? A feeling or expression of appreciation for the altruistic behaviors of other people towards themselves and others. ? A focus on what a person has rather than what they do not. ? A feeling of awe when encountering beauty. ? Actions of reciprocation, or passing it forward to others for benefits one has received. ? Focusing on the positive in the present moment. ? A sense of appreciation rising from understanding life is short. ? Fair and positive social comparisons between self and others. ? Individual differences in the experience of grateful affect. 11 Although the definition of gratitude continues to be debated, this definition appears to be the most comprehensive. Gratitude and Altruism One concept that has been explored as being related to gratitude is altruism (Bartlett & DeSteno, 2006; Froh, Bono, & Emmons, 2010; McCullough et al., 2008; Schnall, Roper, & Fessler, 2010). Altruism would appear to be highly related to the behaviors that the counseling profession values in counselors and thus is worthy of some exploration. Altruistic behavior towards others presents a challenge to concepts of evolution of social systems in humans. This is because altruistic behavior is behavior in which there is no observable, direct benefit to the giver. The question for those studying evolution is how altruistic behaviors evolve if they do not contribute to the survival of the giver. Some (Boyd & Richerson, 1989) have studied direct and indirect reciprocity to determine the evolutionary process of cooperation between individuals in society and have found that indirect reciprocity is not likely to be important unless the groups are fairly small. Nowak and Roch (2007), however, have shown that positive emotions such as gratitude may have an intervening effect on altruistic behaviors. Gratitude helps to make the link in which altruistic behaviors become more conceivable in the evolutionary process when considered as happening within an evolutionary process in larger groups. Gratitude and Religion Regardless of evolutionary beginnings, gratitude is often seen as a moral obligation and worthy pursuit. Just about every religion has gratitude or thankfulness as a key concept of their religion. In Islam, for example, gratitude is at the very center of their belief system. Each year Muslims fast for a month during Ramadan. One of the key aims of Ramadan is to increase thankfulness to God. It is followed by a feast of thanksgiving. A common response from 12 Muslims when asked ?How are you?? is ?Alhamdulillah?, which is to say ?Praise or thanks be to God? (http://islam.about.com/od/glossary/g/gl_hamdilillah.htm). Muslims strive to keep this perspective of thankfulness and gratitude to God regardless of whether they perceive their current situation as difficult or easy. The Qur?an teaches that human beings were created by God for the purpose of being grateful to him. It states ?And Allah has extracted you from the wombs of your mothers not knowing a thing, and He made for you hearing and vision and intellect that perhaps you would be grateful? (http://quran.com/16/78). The Quran also states that after Satan was removed from the garden he vowed in anger, "Because You have put me in error, I will surely sit in wait for them on Your straight path. Then I will come to them from before them and from behind them and on their right and on their left, and You will not find most of them grateful [to You]" (http://quran.com/7/16-17). Gratitude is highly valued in Islam while ingratitude is a great evil. The Judao Christian religions share this value of gratitude as foundational to them fulfilling their purpose on earth. In the King James version of the bible in the New Testament it states, ?And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him? (Colossians 3:17). It also states, ?In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you? (1Thessalonians 5:18). In the Old Testament the people were directed to give thank offerings stating, ?Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto the Lord, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the Lord. And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a free heart burnt offerings? (2 Chronicles 29:31). 13 The story of the 10 lepers is one of the well-known stories of the New Testament. After healing the ten lepers all of them left rejoicing, but one, a Samaritan, returned to give thanks. To him Jesus said, ?Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole? (Luke 17:18-19). Here it can be understood that a spiritual healing greater than that of physical healing can take place in the lives of those who live in gratitude. In addition to Judao Christian and Muslim religions gratitude is valued in Buddhism and Hinduism and many other religions and is valued as an unrivalled quality and seen as necessary to living a good life (Carman & Streng, 1989). Gratitude and Society Encouraging gratitude is not limited to religion but governments appear to encourage it as well. In the United States it could be argued that many of the national holidays are expressions of gratitude sanctioned by the U.S. Government. Some examples include Thanksgiving, Independence Day, Easter, Veterans Day, Christmas, Mother?s and Father?s Day, etc. Gratitude is encouraged in academia as well. Within academia there is a tradition of expressing gratitude for others? contributions and support at the beginning of almost every major literary work. Gratitude and Diverse Populations The counseling profession has put a large emphasis on striving to be sensitive to the diverse population that they serve. This has meant trying to overcome biases or lack of awareness concerning differences of cultures or populations. Measures, when first developed, may narrowly reflect the culture from which they were developed. This can lead to misinterpretation of results if the results are applied to populations for which they were not designed. They must be evaluated as to how well they reflect the experiences, thoughts, or 14 feelings that diverse populations might have. This study endeavored to evaluate the degree to which diverse populations vary in relation to gratitude in an effort to address variations in populations in this construct. Previous studies have found that males tend to experience or express gratitude less than females (Baumgarten-Tramer, 1938). Males and females also are grateful for different things. In a study of school age children (ages 4-12), girls expressed more gratitude than boys for interpersonal relationships (Gordon, Musher-Eizenman, Holub, & Dalrymple, 2004) while boys were more grateful for material objects. Adult women have also been found to be more likely to smile and say ??thank you?? when another person held the door open for them (Ventimiglia, 1982). Women have also been shown to feel more grateful to God than men (Krause, 2006). This same study showed that the higher level of gratitude toward God in women was the intervening variable that reduced the negative effects of stress for women more than men. Krause (2006) also found that the level of support that different cultures experienced at their churches also affected the level of gratitude that people experienced. This study found that older Blacks and Mexican Americans experience more gratitude toward God than older Whites (Kraus, 2006). Kashdan, Mishra, Breen, & Froh (2009) conducted three successive studies to evaluate the differences between males and females in relation to gratitude. They found that women evaluated gratitude expression to be less complex, uncertain, conflicting, and more interesting and exciting than men did. When receiving a gift, women reported feeling less burden and obligation and greater gratitude. Their study demonstrated that men were less likely to feel and express gratitude, made more critical evaluations of gratitude, and derived fewer benefits (Kashdan,Mishra, Breen, froh, 2009). 15 A study of Iranians learning to speak English (Pishghadam, & Zarei, 2011) found that Persian speaking women expressed gratitude much more than Persian speaking men and that the ways in which they expressed this gratitude were different as well. The women tended to express thankfulness in every situation to observe rules of politeness. However their expressions tended to change depending on if the person saw their benefactor as being higher in status. Although the research concerning gratitude and diverse populations is limited these initial studies suggest that gratitude differs by gender and within diverse populations and so deserves further exploration. Although research is not available concerning how gratitude varies by generations, some studies have found differences between what has been referred to as Generation X and Generation Y or Millennials. Generation X has been defined as those who were born between 1965 and 1980 while those who were born after 1980 are identified as Generation Y or Millennials (Lancaster & Stillman, 2003). College student bodies are largely comprised of students that fall into either of these categories. Most of the studies regarding generational differences have been descriptive or anecdotal and are not based on empirical research and so have been criticized as being conjecture that evolves into generalizations and stereotyping (Hoover, 2009). A recent Pew study (2010) emphasized that some of the difficulty in determining differences between generations is that people change as they age and so are developmentally different, just as a product of aging. Many of these differences can be attributed to naturally occurring developmental differences between ages and make one generation see the next generation as different from them. It is useful when comparing different generations to compare how they are at the same age. This is difficult because it requires having similar measures that extend over decades. A few longitudinal studies (Twenge, 2001, Twenge 16 & Campbell, 2001, Twenge, Konrath, Foster, & Campbell, 2008) found some differences between Millenial students and other generations of students. They found that Millenials were significantly higher in extraversion, self-esteem, narcissism, self-satisfaction, high expectations, confidence in future performance and desire for leisure than other generations. Another study by Twenge and Foster controlled for the effect of different campuses on the differences in narcissism in Millennials and found that Millennials were still significantly higher in narcissism than Generation X-ers. Another study (Borges, Manuel, Elam, & Jones, 2010) looked at the motives that drive Millennial and Generation X medical students and found that Millennials were significantly higher in their need for affiliation and achievement but Generation X-ers were significantly higher in their need for power. How these differences will affect counseling student effectiveness as counselors is not known. However, the movement towards narcissism and entitlement (Twenge, 2009) could cause challenges for the counseling profession if students move away from empathy and become overly self-focused. Experiencing gratitude is based in a person?s ability to perceive good intentions on the part of others. This study endeavored to determine if gratitude varies with age differences in counseling students. Gratitude and Developmental Theory Counselor Development Theory This section will address the lack of information concerning gratitude in counselor developmental theory. It will then show evidence of it found in different developmental theories including Bowlby?s (1969) Attachment Theory and Erickson?s (1963) Psychological Development Theory. Lastly, it will demonstrate gratitude?s potential role in relation to Kohlberg and Hersh?s (1977) Moral Development Theory. 17 Most counselor developmental theories address counselor development from the perspective of counselors? movements to new levels of skill and how they think about or approach counseling. These counseling theories also address the ways in which counselors see themselves in relation to the counseling relationship. However, none of these theories seem to address gratitude and little emphasis in these theories is placed on character development or positive coping skills that may be developed in this process. In addition, many studies have looked at which theoretical approach or which intervention works best with clients and found conflicting results. A comprehensive review of many interventions found that it is not so much which intervention is used that determines the effect, as it is who is doing the counseling (Messer & Wampold, 2002; Wampold, 2001). Findings such as these encourage counselor supervisors to look not only at the development of skill but of the counselor as a person. One of the findings of the Messer and Wampold?s (2002) study was that the sense of an alliance between counselor and client was one of the most critical factors related to positive outcomes in counseling (Luborsky et al., 2002; Wampold, 2001). Ackerman and Hilsenroth (2003) have evaluated the results of 25 studies which identify therapist characteristics associated with a good alliance and 14 studies which identify therapist characteristics associated with a poor alliance. They concluded that trainee flexibility, honesty, respectfulness, trustworthiness, confidence, interest, alertness, friendliness, warmth, and openness are all associated with a better alliance between counselor and client while rigidity, uncertainty, exploitiveness, criticalness, distance, tenseness, aloofness, and distractedness are associated with a worse alliance. Another study (Chapman, Talbot, Tatman, & Britton, 2009) has found similar results. 18 A recent study of gratitude (Wood et al., 2009) sought to determine if the increases in well-being that have been attributed to gratitude could be accounted for by personality traits. This study looked at the 30 personality facets underneath the Big Five personality traits that have been widely accepted as representing most of personality at the highest levels of abstraction (Goldberg, 1993). Other studies had shown that gratitude was related to social and well-being variables after controlling for domains of the Big Five (McCullough et al., 2002, 2004, Wood, Maltby, & Stewart, 2008). However, this study (Wood et al., 2009) found that gratitude improved the prediction of psychological well-being beyond what even the 30 facets of the Big Five could predict. This helped to rule out that gratitude was not already represented by some of the lower level traits supporting the Big Five. Gratitude was found to be significantly (p < .05) positively correlated with the lower level traits or facets of warmth, gregariousness, assertiveness, activity, positive emotions, feelings, ideas, values, trust, straightforwardness, altruism, tender-minded, competence, dutifulness, achievement striving, and self-discipline. Gratitude was significantly negatively correlated with; anger hostility, depression, and vulnerability. It also found that gratitude was significantly (p < .05) positively correlated with aspects of psychological well-being. These aspects were; autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, personal growth, positive relationships with others, and self-acceptance. At first glance these traits would appear to be closely related to the characteristics that Ackerman and Hillsenroth (2003) identified as being most associated with better counselor client alliance. Although further exploration of how these traits are defined in relation to the characteristics that Ackerman and Hilsenroth identified it could be argued that people higher in gratitude may 19 exhibit many of the characteristics that could contribute to better counselor client alliance and by relationship potentially better client outcomes. Gratitude and Developmental Theory Interventions that improve gratitude have been identified, but what this developmental process looks like over time remains largely unexplored. Developmental theories give some insight into where gratitude may fit in the developmental process, although it is rarely identified as gratitude. One example of this is found in Bowlby?s (1969) attachment theory. The formation of gratitude may begin and be evident to some degree at the age of one. The famous ?Strange Situation? (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall 1979) studies found that securely attached infants showed joy and excitement upon a mother?s return to them after only being absent from them for 3-6 minutes in an unfamiliar environment. In contrast, insecurely attached infants avoided or resisted their mothers upon return to them. McAdams & Bauer (2004) has suggested that these may be the early developmental signs of gratitude or ingratitude with gratitude being associated with secure attachment and ingratitude being associated with insecure attachment. Gratitude, however, is much more complex than this in that the person experiencing gratitude is also attributing or perceiving some intentional benevolence on the part of the person to which the gratitude is expressed (Lazarus & Lazarus, 1996). Attributing intention to another requires first a sense of self and one?s own intentional behaviors before they can attribute intention to another person. The ability to attribute intention to others has been found to not occur until age two (Schneider-Rosen & Cicchetti, 1991). Children continue to develop this sense of self and others through about age three by continuing to come to greater understanding of the intensions of themselves and others. Understanding that others intend to do things is critical to the development of gratitude (McAdams & Bauer, 2004). According to McAdams 20 (2004), it is the perception of another?s choice and forethought to do something that did not have to be done that has the potential to evoke feelings of gratitude. Others (Freitas, Pieta, & Tudge, 2011) have shown that gratitude can continue to develop and change through adolescence. Their study of children and adolescents ages 7-14 showed that children move from expressing more concrete gratitude to more connective gratitude as they get older. Concrete gratitude is characterized by the person responding to benevolent behaviors of others by giving something that has value to them, but not necessarily to the person who is to receive it. This is because of the egocentric state of the child or adolescent. In contrast, connective gratitude gives something of value to the benefactor, expresses feelings of gratitude, honors the benefactor, considers them a great friend, or it can be expressed through altruistic behaviors intended to benefit society (Freitas et al., 2011). McAdams & Bauer (2004) asserts that as people mature they can continue to see themselves and others with increasingly complex awareness. He posits then that gratitude may also follow this same path into more complexity with the individual moving to feeling gratitude towards groups, organizations, systems, or even ideals. Erik Erickson (1963) identifies negotiation of identity as the main task of late adolescence. This translates into the exploration of who they are in relation to the world and often requires exploration concerning their choice of career and how they believe concerning religion. A recent study (McAdams & Bauer, 2004) found that gratitude was a ?stronger predictor of well-being among career changers than was any other thematic index, including narrative measures of personal agency (or power) and of feelings of communion (or intimacy)?. Although gratitude?s relationship to this developmental stage remains largely unexplored, this 21 initial research suggests that gratitude can play a significant role in successfully negotiating career or occupational development. The Generativity vs. Stagnation developmental stage identified by Erickson?s (1963) Psychological Development Theory also shows some relationship to gratitude. In this midlife stage adults move to concerning themselves with leaving a legacy for the future by positively effecting the next generation through parenting, teaching, mentoring, leadership and other involvement. McAdams, Diamond, Aubin, and Mansfield (1997) studied personal life narratives of midlife age participants and found that the narratives of more generative people were a story of thanksgiving. The narratives of generative people express that they were lucky in some way or were especially blessed or chosen in some way to do good things. Whether this is true or not, it is for these people a way of seeing or narrating their lives. This study suggested that the very concept of generativity can be seen as an outgrowth of gratitude. McAdams & Bauer (2004) states that Erickson?s (1963) last stage of development, Ego Integrity vs. Despair, may provide the ultimate test of gratitude. He states that in this time of decline and reflection ?the final challenge in life is simply to be thankful that one has been blessed with life?. Gratitude and Moral Development The fact that people higher in gratitude are also more altruistic and less materialistic (Algoe, 2012; Borysenko, 2004; Froh, Emmons, Bonoe, Huebner, &Watkins, 2010b; Nowak & Roch, 2007) and where others have found gratitude to be a moral affect (McCullough et al., 2001) or moral sentiment (DeSteno et al., 2010) encourages exploration of gratitude through a moral development perspective. Kohlberg and Hersh (1977) identified six stages of moral development. These were: punishment-and-obedience, instrumental-relativist orientation, the 22 interpersonal concordance or ?good boy? ? ?nice girl? orientation, ?law and order?, social contract or legalistic orientation, and lastly the universal-ethical principle orientation. Although it may seem possible to place gratitude somewhere in this moral development scheme, Kohlberg and Hersh instead state where it does not exist. In reference to stage two of Kohlberg?s moral development model, they clarify the reciprocity that exists at this stage by stating ?Reciprocity, is a matter of ?you scratch my back and I?ll scratch yours?, not of loyalty, gratitude, or justice?(Kohlberg & Hersh, 1977). Although much research has been done since Kohlberg?s original work, the variability in degrees to which people experience or practice gratitude and the complexity of this construct would suggest rather that different levels or facets of gratitude might be associated with different levels of moral development. Some (Demasio, 1994) have argued that positive social emotions such as gratitude may have a significant role in moral development. Rest, Turiel and Kohlberg (1969) assert that an ?individual?s capacity to understand, appreciate and assimilate higher stages of moral thought is a characteristic distinguishable from his spontaneous stage and it represents the individual?s openness to modes of thought?. Although it could be argued that gratitude likely has its own developmental process, it might also be argued that gratitude is part of this ?openness? that facilitates this movement through other developmental stages or states. Cicero (Cicero, 1851) is recorded to have said that gratitude was ?not only the greatest, but also the parent of all the other virtues?. Cognitive emotion theorists (Lazarus & Lazarus, 1996) have stated that gratitude is one of the ?empathic emotions? that are central to the human capacity for empathizing with other people. One explanation for the process by which gratitude might bring about the development of, or movement through, moral developmental stages is found in the ?Broaden and Build 23 Theory of Positive Emotions? (Fredrickson, 2001; Fredrickson & Branigan, 2005; Fredrickson & Joiner, 2002). This theory suggests that experiences of positive emotions, such as gratitude, broaden people?s awareness of possibilities. As they act on these possibilities, they build enduring personal resources ranging from physical and intellectual resources to social and psychological resources (Fredrickson, 2001; Fredrickson & Branigan, 2005; Fredrickson & Joiner, 2002; Fredrickson, Mancuso, Branigan, & Tugade, 2000). At the center of gratitude is an ever increasing awareness of how a person benefits from positive events out of one?s control or by the benevolent actions of others that were not necessarily deserved. This awareness and appreciation may be key for movement to higher levels of moral development. Well-being Wellness vs. Well-being Although wellness and well-being are used interchangeably in some literature, in this study, when wellness is referred to it is defined according to the construct that Hattie, Myers and Sweeney (2004) identified and have done extensive research on. This is a larger construct than well-being in that it also encompasses spirituality, cultural identity, sense of worth, sense of control, realistic beliefs, coping, problem solving and creativity, sense of humor, nutrition, exercise, self-care, stress management, gender identity, work and leisure and environmental influences such as business/industry, media, government, community, family, religion, and education. Although wellness takes a holistic and more comprehensive view of factors contributing to a person?s state of functioning, it was too comprehensive for this study. The researcher in this study has chosen instead to use this study to bridge the gap between positive psychology, out of which the well-being research occurs, and wellness which is more closely identified with the counseling profession. The three aspects of well-being measured in this study 24 can be measured in a condensed approach using only 14 questions verses the more comprehensive 131 questions of the Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle (WEL) (Myers & Sweeney, 1996). These could then provide counselors with a more economic way of beginning to assess aspects of well-being that are related to, but not exact matches with, wellness inventories. For this study, this also serves to be less overwhelming to participants so that more might accurately complete the survey. Well-being is often described in terms of eudemonic and hedonic well-being. Kashdan, Uswatte and Julian (2006) identified that ancient writers such as Aristotle conceptualized eudemonic well-being as the experience of enriching activities and personal growth. Others (Ryff & Singer, 1998, 2000) more recently have clarified it as engagement in purposeful and meaningful activities that provide opportunities for personal growth, positive relations with others, feelings of mastery, and positive self-regard. In contrast hedonic well-being defined broadly includes conceptions of pleasure of the mind and the body (Kubovy, 1999). Hedonic well-being consists of subjective happiness and concerns the experience of pleasure versus displeasure such that a person?s evaluation of their well-being includes all judgments about the ?good? or ?bad? elements of life and can include attainment of goals in different areas of one?s life (Diener et al., 1998). It is also conceptualized (Diener & Lucas, 1999) as the experience of frequent pleasant emotions, infrequent negative emotions, and life satisfaction. Positive Psychology Positive psychology is the scientific study of positive experiences and positive individual traits and the institutions that facilitate their development. It is focused on understanding and enhancing well-being and optimal functioning. It is aimed at moving clinical psychology away 25 from the primary focus of suffering to a more comprehensive and healthy view of the human condition (Duckworth, Steen, & Seligman, 2005). What determines well-being has been debated for a very long time. This is with good reason. Well-being is often used synonymously with happiness, pleasure, joy and wellness and these have been sought throughout the ages. Some governments have designed their legal and legislative systems around it. For example, the United States Declaration of Independence has as its central doctrine the following statement: ?We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?. It is at the center of many religions as well. For instance, in the Book of Mormon, considered scripture by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it says ?Adam fell that men might be and men are that they might have joy? (2 Nephi 2:25). In the Bible it states ?Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away? (Isaiah 51:11). Although most would agree that we should have the right to pursue well-being, happiness and joy, achieving it is quite another endeavor. In an attempt to define, measure, and pursue greater well-being, psychologists have defined separate, yet overlapping, contributors to overall well-being. Wilson (1967) made an early attempt to define well-being. In his research he concluded that the happy person was young, healthy, well educated, well-paid, extraverted, optimistic, worry free, and religious. The person was also married with high self-esteem, had high job morale, modest aspirations and was of either sex, but had a wide range of intelligences. Several years later, Diener (1984) reviewed the literature researching subjective well-being and found no support for modest aspirations and youth as factors contributing to subjective well- 26 being. A new emphasis was being placed on psychological factors. Today modern theories emphasize dispositional influences, adaptation, goals, and coping strategies as having significant influence on subjective well-being (Diener et al., 1999). More recently, Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, and Schkade (2005b) defined a new model of happiness. In one of their studies (Sheldon & Lyubomirsky, 2006) they identified a person?s happiness set point, life circumstances, and positive, cognitive, behavioral, and goal-based activities as the factors most contributing to well-being (Sheldon & Lyubomirsky, 2006). They found that 50 % of a person?s level of happiness could be attributed to their set point that they inherited from their parents, and 10 % could be attributed to life circumstances. Encouragingly though, they found that 40 % was easily within the individual?s influence by working on positive thoughts, behaviors, and goals. Today enough progress has been made in defining and understanding contributing factors to SWB and how different cultures experience SWB that national indicators of happiness can and have been developed (Diener, 2000). This means that nations can better measure if they are truly making progress in improving the lives of their citizens. In the past as well as the present, people have placed a great deal of emphasis on monetary wealth as the indicator of the health or prosperity of a nation. However, studies have shown that the happiness or well-being of a nation does not significantly increase as wealth increases and that a better measure of the progress of a nation would take several other factors into account (Di Tella & MacCulloch, 2008). Changing Well-being Wellbeing is notably affected on both macro and micro levels. At the macro level, governments of nations and their related socio-political environment, macro-economics and environmental stressors such as pollution, crime, disease and natural and man-made disasters can 27 all have an effect on the well-being of people. Although this is of concern because of its effect, this study did not focus on it so much because, at this level, most individuals do not have significant influence on it. It does, however, need to be acknowledged for its effect. Whole nations have strategically changed their emphasis from gaining wealth to improving well-being. This is because they have found that they may not be able to significantly increase the wealth of their nation, and even if they could, increasing their wealth may not significantly affect the well-being of their citizens. For instance, in the nation of Bhutan the choice was made to work on those factors in harmony that can have the most profound effect on changing well-being for its citizens (Pennock & Ura, 2011). As a result, Bhutan is leading many nations in developing better ways of measuring the progress of their nation. They refer to Gross National Happiness (GNH) as their measure of progress more than the Gross Domestic Production (GDP) that many nations place more emphasis on. Today two organizations in the United States have teamed up to develop a comprehensive, real-time evaluation of the well-being of the nation. These two organizations, Gallup and Healthways, have surveyed a thousand people every day since January 2, 2008 concerning their well-being. This means that, to date, they have surveyed over 1.1 million people. From this they have developed a website where a daily assessment of the well-being of cities, congressional districts and states can be assessed. This is to not only be informative to individuals concerning their communities, but is also geared to help leaders positively affect the well-being of their communities. The daily surveys are based on the Well-being index which is a comprehensive well-being assessment that assesses six areas of well-being including life evaluation, physical health, emotional health, healthy behavior, work environment, and basic access. This survey is based on the World Health Organization?s definition of health which 28 states that ?Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity? (https://apps.who.int/aboutwho/en/definition.html). This is free information to the public and can be found at www.well-beingindex.com (Kobau, Sniezek, Zack, Lucas, & Burns, 2010). Interventions to increase individual well-being have also been identified at an increasing rate. Much of this research has come as part of the positive psychology movement. Martin E. P. Seligman is considered the father of the positive psychology movement. As president of APA his emphasis was to bring the field of psychology to focus on human strengths and well-being in addition to their previous focus on illness. This was in response to feeling that the profession of psychology had embraced the sickness model along with the medical model and had largely forgotten their mission to also increase the well-being of the population that may not meet criteria for a mental illness diagnosis. He wrote the book ?Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment? (Seligman, 2002). A comprehensive listing and description of positive psychology interventions can be found in his book as well as in ones authored by Lyubomirsky, Sheldon and Shkade (Lyubomirsky, 2008; Lyubomirsky et al., 2005a). Longitudinal studies of these positive interventions have also shown promise (Boehm et al., 2011). In the research that has followed Seligman?s lead, practices or interventions are being identified and improved upon. Lyubomirsky (2008), for instance, have advocated that identifying the right interventions for each person according to their own level of motivation and approach to life is critical to getting the most out of the interventions. Relationship between Gratitude and Well-being Many researchers have found that grateful people are less destructive towards themselves, are more pro-social, and act more morally. (Bartlett & DeSteno, 2006; DeSteno et 29 al., 2010; Froh et al., 2010a; Froh, Emmons, Card, Bono, & Wilson, 2010b; Grant & Gino, 2010). And thus gratitude interventions have been identified and utilized to promote client well- being by bringing attention to positive aspects of their lives such that they are not taken for granted (Lyubomirsky, King, & Diener, 2005a). For example, Froh et al.?s (2008) counting blessings exercises have been shown to enhance well-being, and reduce negative affect (2008). This study also found that at a three week follow-up of those who participated in the gratitude exercise experienced more optimism, domain-specific life satisfaction, and overall life satisfaction. Gratitude?s benefits are not limited to those who would appear to have much to be grateful for. Gratitude has been shown to contribute to positive affect and reduce negative affect in chronic health issues such as patients with neuromuscular disease (Emmons & McCullough, 2003). Gratitude interventions can have immediate and long-term effect on positive psychological functioning (Froh et al., 2008). Gratitude has long term benefits as shown by Lyubomirsky, Boehm and Sheldon (2011) in an eight month study tracking the benefits of a gratitude intervention. Gratitude also has been shown to mitigate negative effects of trauma. In a longitudinal study that started before the September 11, 2001 attacks on the Twin Towers in the U.S., it was found that gratitude buffers resilient people against depression and fuels thriving (Fredrickson, Tugade, Waugh, & Larkin, 2003). Emmons & Mishra (Emmons, 2011) outline the following hypotheses as to why gratitude enhances well-being. 1. Gratitude facilitates coping with stress. 2. Gratitude reduces toxic emotions resulting from self and social comparisons. 3. Gratitude reduces materialistic strivings. 30 4. Gratitude improves self-esteem. 5. Gratitude builds social resources. 6. Gratitude enhances accessibility to positive memories (Fredrickson, 2001; Fredrickson & Branigan, 2005; Fredrickson & Joiner, 2002). 7. Gratitude motivates moral behavior. 8. Grateful people are spiritually minded. Effect of Gratitude Interventions Gratitude is not only of interest as a predictor of well-being, but also as an object for research because it can be developed or increased. For example, Froh, Sefic, and Emmons (2008) implemented a two week gratitude intervention with adolescents. Participants were asked to write five things that they were grateful or thankful for as they reflected on each day. They found in this study that directly following the two week intervention adolescents reported higher levels of gratitude and life satisfaction than in the pretest. They found that these increases were maintained three weeks later. These results were very similar to those found in a study with adults by Emmons and McCulloughs (2003). Seligman, Steen, Park, and Peterson (2005) performed a study in which they looked at the short and long term effects of positive interventions on happiness. In this study they had five different intervention groups and one control group. All of them were to perform an assigned task for one week after which their happiness was measured directly following the week of intervention and each month for six months after the intervention. One group was assigned to write and deliver in person one letter of gratitude to someone who had been especially kind to them but had never been properly thanked. This group, directly following the study, showed the largest increase of happiness of any positive intervention and continued to see positive effects of 31 this intervention one month later. Interestingly, another group was assigned to write down three things that went well each day and the causes every night during the week. This group continued to see the level of happiness increase and depressive symptoms decrease six months later. Although there are some differences, this intervention is much like the counting blessings exercises done by Emmons and McCullough (2003). In this same study the intervention group was asked to reflect on their week and count up to five things that they were grateful or thankful for. They did this weekly for 10 weeks. They found that over this time period the participants experienced significantly less illness, exercised more, and rated their life more positively than did the other groups. Gratitude interventions, however, are not a silver bullet intervention to improve well- being in all people. Research has indicated that a person?s perception of the intervention or task is a factor. If they don?t think it will work for them or is not a good fit with their own interests, traits and values, it will not be as effective (Sheldon & Lyubomirsky, 2007). This study did find that reflecting upon your many blessings assists in increasing well-being if continued over time. It has also been asserted that those who already score high on gratitude may not benefit as much from gratitude interventions because there may be a ceiling or threshold beyond which people do not see significant benefit from gratitude interventions (Emmons & Mishra, 2011). Froh, Kashdan, Ozimkowski, and Miller (2009) found that in adolescents, those who were lower in positive affect benefitted more from the gratitude interventions than did students who were higher in positive affect. Some research has also indicated that women tend to benefit more from gratitude interventions (Kashdan, Mishra, Breen, & Froh, 2009) than do men. The effect that gratitude interventions have on Asians is mixed with one recent finding indicating Asian Americans do not benefit as much from gratitude interventions (Boehm et al., 2011). Another 32 recent study showed that Chinese school teachers benefitted significantly from gratitude interventions in their reported subjective well-being but also in reducing negative components related to burnout (Chan, 2010). Further research as to gratitude?s effect across cultures is needed. Gratitude Interventions Some of the interventions that can be done to increase gratitude are: 1. A Life Thankfulness Review: Write a list of all the things you are grateful for in your current life. 2. Write 3-5 things every day that you are grateful for and why. It is better if they are not the same three things every day. Otherwise, people begin to think those are the only three good things in their life and the exercise could be counter-productive and get ?gratitude fatigue? (Emmons, 2007). 3. Write a thank you card or letter to someone who has improved upon your life in some way and hand deliver it to the person. Read this letter to the person. 4. Remember the bad. Research has shown that we tend to forget bad events and only remember the good. Reflecting on what bad things have happened in the past and acknowledging that the person made it through it can prompt gratitude (Emmons, 2007). 5. Ask yourself three questions (Emmons, 2007). a. What have I received from ______________________________? b. What have I given to ___________________________________? c. What troubles and difficulty have I caused __________________? These questions can be directed at work interaction, social interaction, or to develop higher aspect of oneself. 33 6. Read the book ?Thanks!: How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier? by Robert A. Emmons (2008). 7. Learn prayers of gratitude (Emmons, 2007). 8. Count your blessings (Froh et al., 2008). 9. Come to your senses (Emmons, 2007): This refers to doing exercises that cause you to focus on the senses of your body that often lead people to focus on basic aspects of life such as health and life for which people often state they are grateful. Our senses, especially smell, can prompt strong and meaningful memories. One example exercise of using senses is given by Luskin (2001). He calls it the Breath of Thanks. It is done by: a. Slow down and bring your attention to your breathing 2-3 times per day. b. Notice how breath flows in and out without having to do anything. Continue breathing this way. c. With each of the next 5-8 exhalations say ?thank you?. 10. Count kindnesses: This intervention is actually directed at oneself. Here participants would count their own acts of kindness towards others. This was shown to increase both happiness and gratitude (Otake, Shimai, Tanaka-Matsumi, Otsui, & Fredrickson, 2006). This is an interesting intervention in that in recognizing one?s own kind acts participants may be expressing gratitude to themselves or at least be caused to reflect on their own ability to benefit the lives of others. This may then lead them to be grateful for aspects of their own lives. If this is the internal process that is occurring, it would speak to the circular nature of gratitude and altruistic behavior (Otake et al., 2006). The study done by Koo, Algoe, Wilson and Gilbert (2008) found that current interventions may be improved upon by altering instructional sets. They found that if 34 instead of identifying positive events in one?s life participants were to go through the process of mentally subtracting those events from their life, they experienced even more positive results. In other words, instead of counting their blessings, participants contemplate how their lives would be without the blessings they had and then write about their feelings. Summary This section has reviewed the literature in relation to concepts of Gratitude, Well- being and the relationship they share with each other. The differences and similarities between gratitude and other constructs such as appreciation and thankfulness were outlined. Gratitude was shown to have a significant relationship to altruism and so may be related to advocacy that the counseling profession advocates. Gratitude?s relationship to many other characteristics or behaviors of effective counselors was also outlined. Gratitude was shown to be widely valued and taught throughout the world by parents, by religions and even government or other social systems. Gratitude was addressed through a developmental lens and shown to have a relationship with human developmental process and moral development as well. This section also identified the differences and relationship between wellness and well-being as they have been discussed in the counseling and positive psychology literature. The potential to change well-being was also outlined. It was shown that this movement to enhance well-being is being embraced not just on the individual level and in counseling but by whole nations. This is bringing change in policy to measure success of nations by more complex and meaningful measures than is reflected by economic measures of the past. 35 Lastly this section identified studies that have found significant relationships between gratitude and its effect on well-being. The possible mechanisms by which gratitude may effect well-being were elucidated and interventions to enhance gratitude were outlined. 36 Chapter 3 Methodology This chapter will identify the research questions that the researcher sought to answer. It will also identify the participants in this study and the methods used for gaining participants and collecting data. The measures utilized for the study are outlined and described. Lastly the method of analysis of the data is also outlined. Research Questions This study aimed to answer the following questions: 1. What is the overall level of well-being in counselors-in-training? 2. What is the overall level of gratitude in counselors-in-training? 3. Is there a significant relationship between level of gratitude and level of self-reported well-being for the counselors-in-training? 4. Are there differences in the three domains of psychological well-being, emotional well-being, and social well-being in predicting overall well-being for counselors-in- training? 5. Are there differences in the eight diverse aspects of gratitude in predicting overall well-being for counselors-in-training? 6. Is there a significant relationship between the diverse aspects of gratitude (grateful affect, appreciation of other people, focus on what the person has, awe, behavior, present moment, life is short, and positive social comparison) and the three domains of well-being (social, psychological, and emotional)? 37 7. Is there a significant relationship between counseling student?s demographic background (gender and ethnicity) and developmental indicators (such as age, time in program, and doctoral or master?s level training) and measures of gratitude? Participants Participants in this study were masters (93 %) and doctoral (7 %) counseling students enrolled in graduate programs throughout the United States. Considerably more females (83 %) than males (17 %) participated in this survey. The mean age of master level students participating in this study were 34.25 while the mean age for doctoral students was 36.79. The mean and median age of all participants was 34.5 and 32.5 respectively with a significant positive skew. The standard deviation from the mean was 9.57 indicating that the majority (68 %) of the ages of participants fell between age 24 and 44. People in this age group are often referred to as ?Generation Y? and ?Generation X?. This study had eight predictor variables of well-being and so in order to have a power of .80 and Alpha of .05, and a medium effect size (.15) this study needed at least 107 participants as determined by Cohen (1992). This study had 122 participants complete the survey. One hundred and forty respondents started the online survey but did not complete all sections so their responses were not included in the analysis. The fact that this study was conducted on line makes it impossible to determine an overall response rate. Research Methods The research methods for this study are based on self-report surveys that have previously been validated. Discussion of each of these measures is included later in this section. The gratitude surveys chosen were chosen primarily because they are the most widely used and validated measures available assessing the construct of gratitude. Together these measures 38 capture the most comprehensive understanding of gratitude that has been studied in recent research literature. In capturing this broad view of gratitude, specific aspects of it can be captured and analyzed as to how these aspects relate to or contribute to counseling student well- being. The well-being measures used in this study were also chosen because of how widely they have been used and validated. They were also chosen because of how they capture both subjective and clinical weighting of aspects of well-being. Using self-report measures was chosen as a methodology so that this research could be more easily compared to previous research in this area but also because of the ease of distributing this type of study over large distances. This study aimed to sample students from all over the United States. This study was conducted after receiving approval from the Auburn University Institutional Review Board for research involving human subjects. The researcher contacted program directors using the Counselor Educators and Supervisors listserve (CESNET-L) and the CACREP listing of counseling programs in the U.S. and requested them to forward an electronic request for participation in the study to their students. In the forwarded request students were directed to an online survey. The online survey was located at http://www.formsite.com/. This site is a secure site that is encrypted so that all participant information was only accessible to the researcher. The initial page of the survey included information about the study, the population it aimed to reach, informed consent information, any risks and benefits in participating, and contact information for potential inquiries (Appendix 2). Participants gave consent by marking ?Yes I want to participate? after reading the informed consent form. After marking that they wanted to participate, the survey advanced to the next screen where they could begin the demographic and questionnaire portions of the survey. They were able to withdraw from the study at any time 39 during the course of the survey. After completing the survey, participants advanced to a webpage that expressed appreciation for their participation and given the opportunity to request their scores on the gratitude and well-being measures. This was done by having an assigned reference number for each participant that they could send to the researcher if they wanted their results. Only nine participants requested their results. The survey was open for participants to take the survey for five weeks. During this time their responses were recorded and compiled in the online Formsite website. After the five weeks of collection the survey was closed and exported to an excel file such that the results could then be analyzed using the Statistical Product for Social Sciences (SPSS) statistical analysis system version 20 for Windows. Measures Three measures of gratitude and two measures of well-being were utilized in this study. The three measures of gratitude were chosen because they have been identified as the three measures that most effectively represent the complex model of gratitude (Wood et al., 2008c). These three measures include the Gratitude Questionnaire?Six Item Form (GQ-6) (McCullough et al., 2002), the Gratitude, Resentment, Appreciation Test-Short Form (GRAT-SF) (Watkins et al., 2003), and the multifactorial Appreciation Scale (Adler & Fagley, 2005). The Well-being measures being used in this research were the Multifactorial Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). Each of the measures is described below. Gratitude Questionnaire?Six Item Form (GQ-6) The Gratitude Questionnaire?Six Item Form (GQ-6) was developed by McCullough and colleagues (2002). It is a six item survey form and was developed on a sample of 1228 adult volunteers with ages ranging from 18-75. The sample was 80% women and 15 % men, and the 40 other 5% did not specify gender. The GQ-6 has a unifactorial structure and high test-retest reliability with an internal consistency or reliability of .87 (McCullough et al., 2002; Wood et al., 2008c). Items were designed to assess emotional intensity, frequency, and density. Items are rated on a 1 (strongly agree) to 7 (strongly disagree) scale. Sample items include, ?I have so much to be thankful for,? and ?If I had to list everything that I felt grateful for, it would be a very long list,? and ?I am grateful to a wide variety of people.? Gratitude, Resentment, Appreciation Test-Short Form (GRAT-Short Form) The Gratitude, Resentment, Appreciation Test-Short Form (GRAT-SF) was developed by Watkins and colleagues (Watkins et al., 2003). It is a self-report instrument for adults that measures dispositional gratitude and sense of abundance and appreciation of others. The short form has 16 items and measures abundance of life and appreciation of others in adults. It has three subscales; sense of abundance (? = .80), simple appreciation (? = .87), and appreciation for others (? = .76). Participants respond to statements that are rated on a Likert scale of 1 (I strongly disagree) to 5 (I strongly agree). In conducting their confirmatory factor analysis the authors found the scales loaded appropriately into the three factors. This test has good reliability (? = .92) as a whole and each subscale had reliability alphas over .70. It also had good internal consistency with an alpha of .86. Two more recent studies (Diessner & Lewis, 2007; Froh et al., 2011) verified the 3-factor structure and yielded acceptable fit. Sample items include: ? I think I couldn't have gotten where I am today without the help of many people. ? My current feeling is that there isn?t enough to go around and I don?t get my share. Appreciation Scale 41 The multifactorial Appreciation Scale (Adler & Fagley, 2005) contains 57 items in eight subscales. It has an overall coefficient alpha of .94 (Adler & Fagley, 2005; Wood et al., 2010; Wood et al., 2008b). The eight subscales measure different aspects of appreciation. These scales include: ?Have? focus (? =.83), Awe (? = .74), Ritual (?=.84), Present Moment (? = .77), Self/Social Comparison (? = .62), Gratitude (? =.76), Loss/Adversity (? = .73), and Interpersonal (? =.78). Psychometric development included item level principal component analysis (PCA), correlations with well-being, known group validity (religious vs. non-religious), and a structural equation model of anomological net of appreciation and other variables (Wood et al., 2008b) Questions are either answered on a 1 (more than once a day) to 7 (never) frequency scale, or a 1 (strongly agree) to 7 (strongly disagree) attitude scale. Examples of such questions are listed below: ? I acknowledge to others how important they are to me. ? I recognize and acknowledge the positive value and meaning of events in my life. Food, clothing, and shelter are basic needs that I do not need to be grateful for because I am entitled to them. Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF) There are many aspects of wellness and well-being that can be measured. Although a more complex and holistic measure of a person?s total wellness might be measured by Myers & Sweeney?s Five Factor Wellness Inventory (5F Wel) (1999) or the Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle (WEL) (1996), these were not chosen for the sake of efficiency in this study. These measures consist of 79 items and 123 items respectively and so require more time for participants to fill out. They also are not free counselors so counselors may not use them as readily. Keyes (2009) Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF) was utilized instead 42 both because of the succinctness of the assessment and also because previous studies on gratitude have studied them in relation to this assessment of well-being. The MHC-SF measures several of the aspects that conceptually relate to wellness, using only 14 questions to measure three major areas contributing to well-being, namely psychological, social, and emotional well-being. The short form was developed from the longer form that consisted of 40 questions covering the three scales. The internal consistency or reliability of each scale in both the long and short form has been high (>.80) (Keyes, 2005b; Mroczek & Kolarz, 1998) as is the discriminate validity (Keyes, 2006a, 2006b; Keyes, 2009; Keyes et al., 2008). The reliability of the MHC-LF has been tested and validated in hundreds of studies over the years (Gallagher, Lopez, & Preacher, 2009; Keyes, 1998; Lamers, Westerhof, Bohlmeijer, ten Klooster, & Keyes, 2011; Ryff, 1989; Ryff & Keyes, 1995). In this assessment respondents indicate how often they have felt an identified positive emotion during the past 30 days. They indicate never, once or twice, about once a week, about 2 or 3 times a week, almost every day or every day. In specifying the past 30 days, this captures Diener, Sandvik & Pavot?s (2009) assertion that happiness is measured not by intensity of affect but by frequency. Some example items are: ? During the past month, how often did you feel that your life has a sense of direction or meaning to it? ? During the past month, how often did you feel satisfied? The Mental Health Continuum provides a Mental Health Diagnosis based on criteria similar to the DSM ?IV-TR, but it diagnoses mental health instead of mental illness. Instructions for scoring this assessment state that: 43 A diagnosis of flourishing is made if someone feels 1 of the 3 hedonic well-being symptoms (items 1-3) "every day" or "almost every day" and feels 6 of the 11 positive functioning symptoms (items 4-14) "every day" or "almost every day" in the past month. Languishing is the diagnosis when someone feels 1 of the 3 hedonic well-being symptoms (items 1-3) "never" or "once or twice" and feels 6 of the 11 positive functioning symptoms (items 4-8 are indicators of Social well-being and 9-14 are indicators of Psychological well-being) "never" or "once or twice" in the past month. Individuals who are neither ?languishing? nor ?flourishing? are then coded as ?moderately mentally healthy.? (p. ). In addition to giving a scales score for individuals, this study determined the mental health diagnosis for the participants. Satisfaction with Life Scales ? (SWLS) 5 question The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) was also used in this study to assess the participants? own interpretation of their life situation. The SWLS is a short five question scale in which answers are given on a seven-point Likert-scale (from ??strongly disagree?? to ??strongly agree??). Examples of questions from this scale include: ?In most ways my life is close to my ideal? and ?The conditions of my life are excellent?. Life satisfaction refers to a judgmental process, in which individuals assess the quality of their lives on the basis of their own unique set of criteria (Shin & Johnson, 1978). This serves the purpose of the individual applying their own subjective weight to different factors contributing to their personal happiness (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985). The SWLS is recommended as a complement to scales that focus on psychopathology or emotional well- being because it assesses an individual's conscious evaluative judgment of his or her life by using 44 the person's own criteria (Pavot & Diener, 1993; Pavot, Diener, Colvin, & Sandvik, 1991). This scale is widely used and validated. The SWLS yields a high internal consistency (?= 0.85) (Proyer, Ruch, & Buschor, 2012). The scale is widely used and demonstrates good psychometric properties across different studies (Diener, 1994, 2000). The simple structure of this scale and the way in which it encourages participants to lend their own judgment to factors contributing to their happiness enable its use effectively across many different cultures. Because of its adaptability in this sense it has been used with many different ethnic groups and is a major part of many national evaluations of national well-being (Cummins, Eckersley, Pallant, van Vugt, & Misajon, 2003; Hagerty et al., 2001; Lau, Cummins, & McPherson, 2005). Data Analysis The data analysis for this study was conducted using the Statistical Product for Social Sciences (SPSS) statistical analysis system version 20 for Windows 7. Using this software Chronbach's alpha was conducted to determine the internal validity of each measure. Pearson?s R Correlation analysis was run to determine the relationship between the variables studied. Linear regression enter method was conducted to determine differences in the predictive potential of the variables studied as well. Summary This chapter identifies the design of this study and the methods used to collect and analyze the data. The research questions for the study were outlined. The process by which participants were contacted is outlined as was the way in which informed consent was received. The five measures that are used in this study are described and statistics concerning their reliability and validity are also outlined. 45 Chapter 4 Results This chapter will present the results of the data analysis for this study. It includes assessment of measure reliability, the participants? demographic information, and the results of the statistical analysis. The purpose of this study was to extend research concerning the relationship between gratitude and well-being in counselors-in-training. Assessment of Measure Reliability Each of the measures used in this study were evaluated for their reliability or internal consistency. Initial evaluation of the measures for normality revealed that each of the scales met requirements of linearity and homoscedascity. They did not meet the criteria of skewness. The skewness was more than two times the respective standard errors for each measure indicating a non-normal distribution. Having skewed data can result in inflated significance in parametric tests. To normalize these data, a squared transformation was applied to negatively skewed items for each gratitude and well-being measure. This sufficiently adjusted for skewness in each measure. The Chronbach?s Alpha was then conducted for each of the measures both with and without being adjusted for the negative skew and are reported here (Table 1). Table 1 Chronbach?s Alpha Reliability Analysis of Measures Measure and respective scales Adjusted for Normality Unadjusted Appreciation Scale (AS) .971 .967 Interpersonal .834 .832 46 Have Focus .915 .911 Present Moment .836 .821 Awe .760 .762 Ritual .883 .895 Gratitude .887 .846 Loss/Adversity .899 .894 Self/Social .737 .678 Gratitude, Resentment, and Appreciation Test -Short Form (GRAT-SF) .869 .857 Appreciation of Others .816 .769 Sense of Abundance .813 .796 Simple Appreciation .780 .764 Gratitude Questionnaire?Six Item Form (GQ-6) .612 .766 Mental Health Continuum - Short Form (MHC-SF) .914 .918 Emotional Well-being .822 .841 Social Well-being .784 .788 Psychological Well-being .844 .857 Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) .845 .854 Participants? Demographic Information One hundred and forty respondents started the online survey. Twelve of these completed only the demographic section and did not proceed to the assessments. Another six participants started the survey but did not complete it, leaving one hundred and twenty two respondents that completed the full, online evaluation. All analyses were based on these respondents. Participants were from 25 different states. The Southern United States was overrepresented (79%) with the largest majority residing in Alabama (43 %) and Georgia (16%). The majority of respondents were female (83 %). Also, a larger percentage of the sample was African American (32.8 %). The representation of different race or ethnic groups is reflected in Table 2. 47 Table 2 Race/Ethnicity Demographics Race Ethnicity Frequency Percent of Sample African American 40 32.8 % Asian 3 2.5 % Caucasian 72 59 % Hispanic 2 1.6 % Native American 1 .8 % Other 4 3.3 % Total 122 100 % In addition, a large percentage of respondents (46.7 %) were in their first year of school while 32.8 % were in their 2nd year. Only 7% of the total respondents were doctoral students. The mean age of participants was 34.5 years with a standard deviation of 9.57. The mean age for master?s level counselors was 34.25 while the mean age for doctoral students was 36.79. Results of Statistical Analysis Research Question 1: What is the overall level of well-being in counselors-in-training? The overall well-being in this study is represented by two different measures, the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) and the Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF). Descriptive statistics for both measures can be found in Table 3. Table 3 Well-being Descriptive Statistics Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation MHC-SF (on 0-5 scale) 0.4 4.9 3.5 0.8 Emotional well-being 1.0 5 3.7 0.9 Social well-being 0.2 4.6 2.9 1.0 Psychological 0.33 5.0 3.8 0.8 SWLS (on 1-7 scale) 1.8 7.0 4.8 1.2 Note. n=122 48 Outcomes from the MHC-SF identify participants as flourishing, languishing, or having moderate mental health. From this study 2.5 % scored as languishing, 63.9 % as flourishing, and 33.6 % as having moderate mental health as can be seen in Table 4. Table 4 MHC-SF Score Dispersion Diagnosis Percent of Total Languishing 2.5 % Moderate Mental Health 33.6 % Flourishing 63.9 % Note. n=122 The mean SWLS scale score for this study was 4.8 (SD = 1.2) indicating the mean SWLS score for this sample was ?slightly satisfied?. The student core dispersion for this sample is found in Table 5. Seventy percent of the participants scored slightly satisfied or above. Table 5 SWLS Score Dispersion Diagnosis Percent of Total Extremely Dissatisfied 1 % Dissatisfied 7 % Slightly Dissatisfied 16 % Neutral 5 % Slightly Satisfied 25 % Satisfied 32 % Extremely Satisfied 13 % Total 100 % Note. n=122 , each score is rounded to the nearest percent. Question 2: What is the overall level of gratitude in counselors-in-training? The mean gratitude scores for the GRAT-SF was 4.1 (SD = 0.5) on a 1-5 Likert scale. The mean gratitude score for the GQ6 was 5.9 (SD = 0.9) on a 1-7 scale. Lastly the mean for the Appreciation Scale was 5.8 (SD = .8) on a 1-7 scale. On each of these tests, higher scores indicate more gratitude or appreciation while lower scores indicate less gratitude or appreciation. Question 3: Is there a significant relationship between level of gratitude and level of self- reported well-being for the counselors-in-training? 49 There is a strong Pearson correlation (p < .01) between the level of gratitude as measured by the three gratitude measures and the two well-being measures (See Table 6). This is reflected in significant correlations between each measure of well-being (MHC-SF, & SWLS) and each gratitude measure (GQ6, GRAT-SF, & APPRECIATION SCALE). Table 6 MHC-SF SWLS GQ6 .595** .547** GRAT-SF .579** .612** APPRECIATION SCALE .597** .455** Note: n=122, ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). Question 4: Are there differences in the three domains of psychological well-being, emotional well-being, and social well-being in predicting overall well-being for counselors- in-training? A regression analysis (Enter method) of the three domains of well-being was conducted to determine if each of the three scales were significant predictors of well-being as measured by both the MHC-SF and the SWLS. Each of the three scales was found to be significant (p < 0.5) predictors of MHC-SF overall Well-being (see Table 7). However only the Social and Psychological scales were significant (p < .05) predictors of scores on the SWLS (see Table 8). Table 7 Regression Analysis of MHC Sub-scales as Predictor of MHC-SF Variable Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t Sig. 95.0% Confidence Interval B Std. Error Beta Lower Bound Upper Bound (Constant) 4.531E-016 .009 .000 1.000 -.017 .017 MHC-SF Emotion .249 .016 .214 15.9 9 .000 .218 .279 MHC_SF Social .683 .018 .500 38.1 9 .000 .648 .719 MHC-SF Psychological .527 .018 .395 28.5 9 .000 .491 .564 Note: n= 122, Numbers in bold indicate significance at p < .05 50 Table 8 Regression Analysis of MHC Sub-scales as Predictors of SWLS Variable Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t Sig. 95.0% Confidence Interval for B B Std. Error Beta Lower Bound Upper Bound (Constant) 6.923E-016 .069 .000 1.000 -.137 .137 MHC- SF Emotion .202 .123 .174 1.64 2 .103 -.042 .446 MHC-SF Social .452 .142 .331 3.192 .002 .172 .732 MHC-SF Psychological .301 .146 .225 2.06 3 .041 .012 .590 Note: n=122, Numbers in bold indicate significance at p < .05 Question 5: Are there differences in the eight diverse aspects of gratitude in predicting overall well-being for counselors-in-training? A linear regression analysis using the Enter method was conducted and found that the ?Individual Differences in Grateful Affect?, ?Focus on What a Person Has?, ?Awe?, and ?Behavior? scales were the only scales that significantly (p < .05) predicted both SWLS (see Table 9) and MHC-SF (see Table 10) scores. This indicates that there are significant differences in which gratitude scales predict well-being. The Standardized Coefficients Beta from this analysis also indicated that not only do these variables differ in their ability to predict the SWLS and MHC-sf but it also shows the nature of their relationship and importance in contributing to the model. It should be noted that even though Behavior and Life is short are significant predictors of SWLS scores they have a negative relationship to the dependent variable. This would indicate that as a person reports higher scores on Behavior and Life is short scales their SWLS score goes down. Similarly a higher Behavior scale score would predict a significantly lower MHC-SF score. 51 Table 9 Combined 8 Gratitude Scales as Predictors of SWLS Scale Unstandardized Coefficients Standardiz ed Coefficient s t Sig. B Std. Error Beta (Constant) 1.406E-015 .057 .000 1.000 Individual Differences in Grateful Affect .257 .093 .257 2.754 .007 Appreciation of other people .039 .094 .039 .414 .680 Focus on What a Person Has .716 .110 .716 6.500 .000 Awe .436 .112 .436 3.896 .000 Behavior -.454 .088 -.454 -5.174 .000 Present Moment -.049 .119 -.049 -.414 .680 Life is Short -.270 .094 -.270 -2.880 .005 Positive Social Comparison -.086 .080 -.086 -1.075 .285 Note: n = 122, Numbers in bold indicate significance at p < .05 Table 10 Combined 8 Gratitude Scales as Predictors of MHC-SF Scale Unstandardized Coefficients Standardiz ed Coefficient s t Sig. B Std. Error Beta (Constant) 3.551E-016 .063 .000 1.000 Individual Differences in Grateful Affect .249 .102 .249 2.435 .016 Appreciation of other people .154 .104 .154 1.485 .140 Focus on What a Person Has .502 .121 .502 4.142 .000 Awe .263 .123 .263 2.133 .035 Behavior -.270 .096 -.270 -2.796 .006 Present Moment -.030 .130 -.030 -.232 .817 Life is Short -.183 .103 -.183 -1.770 .079 Positive Social Comparison .094 .088 .094 1.061 .291 Note: n = 122, Numbers in bold indicate significance at p < .05 Question 6: Is there a significant relationship between the eight diverse aspects of gratitude (individual differences in grateful affect, appreciation of other people, focus on what the 52 person has, awe, behavior, present moment, life is short, and positive social comparison) and the three domains of well- being (social, psychological, and emotional)? There is a significant relationship between the eight diverse aspects of gratitude (Grateful Affect, Appreciation of Other People, Focus on What the Person Has, Awe, Behavior, Present Moment, Life is Short, and Positive Social Comparison) and the three domains of well-being (Social, Psychological, and Emotional). The correlation analysis presented in Table 11 shows that all eight scales had significant correlations with Emotional Well-being, Social Well-being, and Psychological Well-being. The strongest relationships exists between the ?Focus on What a Person Has? scale and the ?Psychological Well-being? scale (r=.664, p < .01). The gratitude scale with the weakest correlation with another well-being scale was the ?Positive Social Comparison? scale as it correlated with the ?Social Well-being? scale (r=.305, p < .05). Table 11 Eight Gratitude and Three MHC-SF Scale Correlations 3 MHC-SF Scales Eight Gratitude Scales or Conceptions Social Psychological Emotional Individual Differences in Grateful Affect .481 .615 .473 Appreciation of Other People .425 .546 .571 Focus on What the Person Has .556 .664 .606 Awe .510 .513 .531 Behavior .325 .408 .357 Present Moment .482 .516 .566 Life is Short .313 .499 .366 Positive Social Comparisons .305 .314 .321 Note: All correlations are significant at the .01 level (2-tailed) Question 7: Is there a significant relationship between counseling student?s demographic background (gender and ethnicity) and developmental indicators (such as age, time in program, and doctoral or master?s level training) and measures of gratitude? 53 Mean scores of gratitude results for each demographic are provided in Table 12. Table 12 Gratitude by demographics Mean score by Gratitude Measure Demographic GQ6 GRAT-SF Appreciation Scale African American(n=40) 6.0 4.0 5.9 Asian(n=3) 5.6 3.8 5.3 Caucasian(n=72) 5.9 4.2 5.7 Hispanic (n = 2) 6.2 4.4 5.9 Native American(n = 1) 6.7 4.9 6.4 Other (n=4) 6.0 4.1 5.4 Female (n=100) 6.0 4.1 5.9 Male(n=20) 5.6 3.8 5.2 Doctoral(n=17) 6.2 4.2 5.8 Master(n=104) 5.9 4.1 5.7 A Pearson correlation analysis revealed that age, years of education in a program, and whether a student was a doctoral or master?s level student had no significant (p > .05) relationship to the level of gratitude a person has. Ethnicity was found to be significantly correlated (p < .05) with gratitude as measured by the GRAT-SF and the Appreciation Scale but not with the GQ6. Caucasian participants reported higher gratitude scores on the GRAT-SF than African Americans while African Americans reported higher appreciation scale scores. However, a follow up independent samples t-test revealed that these differences in means were not significant (p>.05). Other ethnic populations were too small to evaluate. Gender was also significantly related (p < .05) to gratitude as measured by all three measures. Females reported higher levels of gratitude than did males in this study (see Table 54 13). However a follow up independent samples t-test was conducted and showed that males and females only differed significantly (p < .05) on their mean scores of the GRAT-SF. Table 13 Demographic and Developmental Correlations with Gratitude Measures GQ6 GRAT-SF APPRECIATION SCALE Age .000 .115 -.003 Years in counseling program .089 .118 .017 Master vs. Doctoral Student .105 .075 .027 Race/Ethnicity -.063 .195 -.186 Gender -.190 -.188 -.342 Note: Correlations highlighted in bold are significant at the P < .05 level Summary This study found that most (97.5 %) of counseling students meet criteria for either Moderate Mental health (33.6 % ) or Flourishing Mental Health ( 63.9 % ) as measured by the MHC-SF. They also on average are slightly more satisfied with their lives than not, as measured by the SWLS. This study brings together three measures of gratitude that have not been previously used in unison to assess the level of gratitude of counselors-in-training, but have been found to measure this one construct (Wood et al., 2008b). This study demonstrated that when these three measures of gratitude are used together, a strong relationship between gratitude and well-being in counselors-in-training can be found regardless of which measure is used. Four of the combined eight scales of gratitude were found to be significant in predicting well-being in both the MHC-SF and in the SWLS. These four variables were Individual Differences in Grateful Affect, Focus on What a Person Has, Awe, and Behavior. Only the Psychological and Social Scales of the MHC-SF were found to significantly predict a counseling student?s 55 satisfaction with life. All eight scales analyzed for their relationship to the three domains of well-being were found to be significantly correlated to all three domains of well-being. Potential developmental factors, namely, age, years in a program, and whether a student was a doctoral or masters level student were evaluated as to their relationship to a person?s level of gratitude and found that there was no significant relationship. Female counselors-in-training were found to be higher in their gratitude than males on all three gratitude scales but this difference was only significant for the GRAT-SF. There was not a significant difference in gratitude between different races or ethnicities in this study. 56 Chapter V Discussion The counseling profession champions a wellness model that embraces holistic and positive outlooks on human functionality (Myers, 1992; Myers & Sweeney, 2008). In an effort to maintain the counselor identity, refocusing on the profession?s foundation in wellness or well- being can assist in building on the counseling profession?s core strengths. This study endeavored to clarify the construct of gratitude?s relation to well-being in counselors-in-training. This study investigated the self-reported levels of well-being in counselors-in-training using two different validated measures as well as their overall gratitude as measured by three previously validated measures. It looked at the diverse relationships between the scales of these measures and exposed these relationships. Discussion of the Findings This study validated for counselor educators the internal consistency of three gratitude measures in assessing the level of gratitude of counselors-in-training. This may be useful because of the relation that gratitude has previously been identified as having with other characteristics that are valued by the counseling profession namely, altruism, empathy, resiliency, and healthier social relations (Fredrickson et al., 2003; Grant & Gino, 2010; McCullough et al., 2008). With regards to the first research question, this study analyzed well-being of counselors in training by using two different measures. Outcomes from the MHC-SF provide that 63.9 % counselors-in-training scores would meet the criteria for a ?flourishing? level of mental health, and 33.6 % to be at a ?moderate? level of mental health while only 2.5 % meet criteria for being 57 at a ?languishing? level. On the SWLS scale 70 % of the students scored slightly satisfied or above. This is significant in that previous studies have found conflicting results regarding counselor or counseling student well-being in comparison to the general population with some finding that students had lower well-being and other finding they had higher well-being (Lawson, 2007; Myers, Mobley, & Booth, 2003; White, 1990). The scores of these counseling students are not reflective of the adult U.S. population: flourishing status among counselors-in-training in this study is much higher than the average U.S. population. Keyes (2002; 2005a, 2005b) found that on average only 20% of the population meet criteria for a diagnosis of Flourishing where this study found that 63.9 % of the counseling students met criteria for Flourishing. On the other hand, a study (Keyes et al., 2011) conducted on college students reported a higher Flourishing score for college student population compared to general public, where 51.8% were diagnosed as Flourishing, 44.6 % with Moderate Mental Health and 3.6 % as having Languishing Mental Health. These two studies suggest that counselors-in-training are more likely to be Flourishing than both the general population and other college students. The mean total SWLS score for this study was 23.99 (SD = 6.03) which is comparable to the mean and dispersion reported by Diener, Emmons, Larsen, and Griffin (1985) for U.S. undergraduates (M = 23.5) and elderly persons (M = 25.8) placing this sample mean SWLS score slightly above other college students but below elderly persons SWLS score. This researcher would suggest however that these outcomes for both the MHC-SF and SWLS should be interpreted with some skepticism. The well-being of counseling students might be moderated downward to some degree if we account for the possibility that students with higher well-being 58 might self-select into a study that is on gratitude and well-being. This researcher?s supposition is that counseling students are likely very similar to other college students in well-being. The overall level of gratitude was evaluated for question two and found that counselors- in-training?s gratitude scores were on the upper end of each of these gratitude measures. Although these scores may appear good they do not seem to differ much from those in other populations studied. For instance, in a study by McCullough, Emmons, and Tsang (2002) the mean scale score on the GQ-6 for college students in their study was 5.92 with a standard deviation of 0.88. In this study the mean was 5.93 with a standard deviation of 0.898. This would indicate that the counselors-in-training in this study do not appear much different in their level of trait gratitude from other college students. Similarly, Adler and Fagley (2005) found that the mean total Appreciation score and standard deviation of those in their study was 302.13 and 38.94 respectively. In this study the mean total score was 328.08 with a standard deviation of 42.79 which is not a significant difference (p > .05). In answer to question three, the correlation analysis validated that there is a significant relationship between gratitude and well-being in counselors-in-training. This is a positive outcome because of the relationships that have been previously found between counselor well- being and positive outcomes for clients (Witmer & Granello, 2005). This is also positive because of the relationship gratitude has been shown to have with desirable counselor attributes such as extraversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness (Wood et al., 2009), altruism (Bartlett & DeSteno, 2006) and empathy (Grant & Gino, 2010; McCullough et al., 2001) The regression analysis conducted for question four found that only two of the three mental health sub-scales of the MHC-SF were predictive of life satisfaction. These were the Social and Psychological Scales, while the Emotional Scale was not a significant predictor of life 59 satisfaction. The results may indicate that, for counselors-in-training, social and psychological factors are likely to have strong influence on their overall well-being. Counseling programs may want to investigate interventions that can improve psychological and social well-being in order to have a more profound effect on student life satisfaction. A closer look at the regression analysis, however, shows that although the Emotional Health scale did not meet criteria to say that it is a significant (p < .05) predictor of well-being as measured by the SWLS, its significance was p = .103. So although it cannot be said with confidence that this is a significant predictor of life satisfaction, it warrants closer attention because it has been shown to be a significant contributor to the construct of well-being in previous research (Keyes, 2009). The regression analysis for question five revealed some interesting relationships between different aspects of gratitude and well-being as measured by both the MHC-SF and the SWLS. First, they again validated that gratitude as a whole is a good predictor of well-being whether it is measured in terms of mental health or life satisfaction. This result suggests that increased attention and efforts to enhance gratitude attributes among counselors-in-training and counselors might be useful where counselor?s well-being is a prerequisite for client?s well-being. Second, what was surprising with this was that only four of the eight gratitude variables were significant predictors for both the MHC-SF and the SWLS. The four variables are: Individual Differences in Grateful Affect, Focus on What a Person Has, Awe, and Behavior. However, the relationship that each of these gratitude variables have to the SWLS and MHC-SF needs to be taken into consideration. The fact that ?Behavior? was a significant negative predictor of both the MHC- SF and SWLS indicates that different aspects gratitude although affecting well-being effect it in a negative way after its shared variance with the other variables is considered. The same is true for the ?Life Is Short? scale as it relates to the SWLS in that it too is a significant negative 60 predictor of life satisfaction after its shared variance with the other gratitude scales are accounted for. This would suggest that if well-being is to be improved, increasing ?Individual Differences in Grateful Affect, Focus On What a Person Has, and Awe? would increase scores on the MHC- SF and SWLS. However, decreasing ?Behavior? would increase scores on the MHC-SF and SWLS. Similarly, decreasing ?Life is Short? would increase SWLS scores. The differences in how these aspects of gratitude relate to well-being highlights the complexity of the construct of gratitude. It also raises questions as to how well this construct of gratitude is defined. The correlation analysis for question six brings attention to the fact that all of the eight diverse aspects of gratitude are significantly correlated with the three dimensions of well-being. The findings in question six highlight the potential for a circular process between gratitude and well-being. In other words, all of these eight scales are related to these three dimensions of well- being but we do not know how they are related. This study showed that gratitude predicts well- being, but this study did not look at whether higher well-being leads to increased gratitude. It is likely that some of both is true, but some like Fredrickson and Joiner (2002) have shown that learning to be more grateful can move this relationship in an upward spiral towards increased well-being. The current study also confirmed that gratitude variables were significant predictors for both mental health and life satisfaction for counselors-in-training. The fact that this study found no significant difference in gratitude according to a person?s age, time in a counseling program, or if they were a doctoral or masters level counselor- in-training, raises questions as to what determines a student?s self-report level of gratitude. It would not appear to just improve as a product of aging and does not appear to change significantly in the time that a person is in counseling training. Nor does advancement in schooling to the doctoral level appear to have a significant effect. However, it has been shown 61 that gratitude can be developed or enhanced through behavioral or cognitive exercises (Boehm et al., 2011; Lyubomirsky, 2008). Question seven also identified that women in this study were higher in their gratitude than men. This was also found to be the case in another study (Kashdan et al., 2009). The cause for this difference is not clear from this study. It may be that these measures do not adequately capture men?s experience or expression of gratitude or that gratitude is underreported by males because they may see it as less masculine and so less valued by men. However, such discussion seems to be beyond the limit of the current research. What stands out though, is if gratitude is highly predictive of well-being, male students may be invited to examine their level of gratitude and to get involved in practice and training planned to enhance gratitude during their course of study. On the other hand, given that some research has found that women tend to benefit more from gratitude interventions (Froh et al., 2009; Kashdan et al., 2009) than do men, counselor educators may find that this subject has more application to their female students than male students. Additionally, the analysis of ethnicity in relation to gratitude found that Caucasians scored higher than African Americans on the GRAT-SF but African Americans scored higher on the Appreciation Scale. Although these differences were not significant, these differences raise questions as to what each measure captures and how different ethnicities may perceive or express gratitude. It highlights the fact that coming to any conclusion about certain ethnicities being more or less grateful based on one of these measures could be in error and highlights the need for diversity sensitive measures. In light of the fact that this study did not look at other potential intervening variables such as socioeconomic status, physical health, employment status, and other factors, these results highlight the need to contextualize any results of other studies 62 evaluating gratitude by controlling for other factors. Regardless, this difference between the results for these three assessments may be capturing different aspects of gratitude that are more prevalent in one diverse population than another. This would suggest that if these measures all capture one higher order construct, all of them are necessary to capture the most complete description of how diverse populations experience gratitude. These differences then warrant further exploration as to how our diverse population of counseling students experience gratitude. Lastly, by validating two well-being measures with a counseling student population, this study also assists in making available to counselor educators two widely-used measures, the MHC-SF and the SWLS. The MHC-SF provides a platform on which counselors can build understanding of concepts such as wellness and furthers the discussion of working towards, not just a lack of illness (medical model), but also flourishing in mental, emotional, and psychological health. The SWLS is also a useful tool with which counselors may want to become familiar. It has a concise, five question format which is applicable to many cultures because of how it encourages those taking the assessment to evaluate their own satisfaction with all major aspects of their lives. Limitations Some of the limitations of this study are related to its sample population and sampling procedure. This study was conducted on the internet and so may have a built in response rate bias to those counselors-in-training that are comfortable using the internet. It also resulted in a mostly southern regional sample and so can?t be generalized to the rest of the population. This was a result of the two different ways in which students learned of the study. Students that found out about the study through the listserve were from all over the country. Students that were 63 directed to the study as a result of their professor?s encouragement were more often from the south. This was because faculty that knew the researcher responded to the request to encourage their students to participate at a much higher rate than those that did not know the researcher. This was also a small sample of only 122 masters and doctoral students and so although this study had significant power, it is limited in being generalizable to the larger population. The measures used also were self-report measures and so could easily have a social desirability response bias. Self-report measures are also limited to the person?s insight into their own thoughts and behaviors and may differ significantly from outside observer?s perception of the participant. Although self-report measures allow us to tap into the perception of the individual, this perception is subject to change over time, outside factors effecting the person?s mood or thoughts at that time and other factors. This study is also not based on a random sample because students self-selected into the study which also limits its generalizability. This study, although looking at potential developmental markers such as age, time in a program, or masters or doctoral students, only captured a portion of a counselors developmental process. This study cannot be generalized to practicing counselors because it only studied counselors-in-training. Implications and Recommendations for Future Research This study establishes initial verification that the construct of gratitude is significantly related to and predicts the well-being of counselors-in-training. In doing so, it is pertinent that further exploration of this topic be conducted. Some questions for future research include: - Is the overall gratitude of counselors or counselors-in-training related to better client outcomes? 64 - If gratitude is found to be related to better client outcomes, how do we use this information? - Would it be useful to include trait or state level gratitude assessments as part of an application process for counselors-in-training? - If we do use them as a factor in acceptance to a program, what should be done with the information once we have it? - These assessments of gratitude do not have a check for social desirability built into them. Can this be overcome? - Should counselor educators develop education around this subject so that those low in gratitude may learn how to incorporate it into their lives? - If a counselor?s level of well-being is related to better client outcomes, as has previously been found, what is gratitude?s role in determining well-being? - Can these findings be replicated in other areas of the world representing different demographics, ethnicities, socio-economic strata, and cultures? - Are these measures of gratitude sensitive to capturing the differences in gratitude for diverse populations? How can this be improved upon? - Does the same relationship between gratitude and well-being exist among counselors-in- practice? - Does a counselor?s level of gratitude affect other areas such as burnout, job satisfaction, advocacy, altruistic endeavors, empathy, perspective taking, and counselor development? Where other studies have shown a movement towards narcissistic traits in younger generations (Twenge, 2009), could teaching gratitude strategies reduce any negative impact of these changes? 65 - Would a qualitative study concerning the relationship between gratitude and well-being in counselors clarify how and why they are related? - What other forms of assessment might also be developed that could deepen our understanding of this construct? One example might be to develop gratitude scenarios where participants give written responses to each scenario. One might assess these scenarios by applying thematic analysis to these scenarios. Peer report or behavioral ratings might also add to our understanding of gratitude. These may also assist in removing response bias as well as allow for further exploration as to the developmental process of gratitude. Biofeedback forms of assessment might also measure physiological responses to scenarios or pictures potentially allowing an unbiased look at how gratitude might be experienced differently than other feelings. Counselors may be more familiar with the wheel of wellness and its associated measures than the two shorter measures that this study utilized. Further exploration of these measures in relation to wellness measures more widely used in the counseling profession may answer the following questions. - To what degree do these well-being measures, SWLS and MHC-SF, capture the constructs measured in assessments such as the Five Factor Wellness Inventory and the Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle? - In relation to this, can the concept of flourishing advocated by Keyes (2007) or life satisfaction advocated by Diener et al. (1985) be a useful concept in discussing wellness with counseling students or clients? - Is gratitude captured in some way by current wellness measures, or could it be incorporated into them? 66 This researcher also found that although combining these three measures of gratitude together to create eight dimensions or scales makes sense conceptually, it is problematic in practice due to the different scaling of the measures. This researcher recommends that further analysis be conducted to see if factors other than the eight dimensions of gratitude investigated in this study better identify subscales within this overall construct. Given that the regression analysis of these eight dimensions of gratitude were found to relate differently to well-being with some being positive predictors and others being negative further exploration of these variables is necessary. This raises questions about if some of the variables associated with gratitude have a down side. It is possible that rigidly or reluctantly living up to what people perceive as expectations associated with gratitude might actually affect one negatively. It is also possible that some of these questions capture a sense of indebtedness which has been confused with gratitude and could engender feelings of vulnerability or servitude. These are just conjectures but it warrants further exploration because the results of this analysis suggest it may be useful to differentiate between behaviors of gratitude expected by different cultures and those that are deeply felt and voluntarily internalized. This study only looked at the three measures that Wood et al. (2010) had identified as the three measures of gratitude. There is, however, one other gratitude scale called the Gratitude Adjective Checklist (GAC) (McCullough et al., 2002) that aims to capture aspects of gratitude. Future research may benefit by exploring this measure?s contribution to understanding gratitude?s relationship to well-being. Another study (Magno & Orillosa, 2012) has found that gratitude is significantly related to the achievement and emotions of enjoyment, hope, and pride that have been shown to effect academic achievement, absorption in activities and social integration (Froh et al., 2009). In light 67 of these findings and those of this study, we may ask if higher gratitude is related to higher program completion rates or even longevity in the profession of counseling. This study showed that counseling students? gratitude and well-being scores were significantly negatively skewed, thus demonstrating higher levels of well-being and gratitude. With this being the case, training all counselors in gratitude interventions may have limited returns (Emmons & Mishra, 2011; Froh et al., 2009) in improving gratitude or well-being for most counseling students. However, exploration as to the use of gratitude interventions with counseling students who are struggling could be explored as a potential tool to help them move to higher well-being and improve other positive counseling characteristics as well. Gratitude is often widely accepted, if not expected, in society on the behavioral level as an indicator of social skills or manners, but this does not necessarily translate into people internalizing a grateful attitude or approach to life. Similarly, counselors may perform the socially appropriate behaviors of gratitude without internalizing the deeper aspects or skills of grateful living. This may be evidenced in the fact that this study found only four of the eight gratitude dimensions were significant predictors for both the SWLS and the MHC-SF. Further investigation of gratitude may answer the following question: Are there significant differences between the eight dimensions of gratitude in representing higher levels or stages of gratitude development? In other words, do the eight different dimensions of gratitude explored in this study align with some developmental process for gratitude or do they just manifest different aspect of gratitude that may vary with personality, preference, or culture? On a similar note counselor development theory does not seem to address the role of gratitude in counselor development. Further exploration concerning gratitude and character 68 development or positive coping may be useful in enhancing not only counseling skills, but the counselor as a person. In this study women were found to be significantly higher in gratitude than men. This was also found to be the case in another study (Kashdan et al., 2009). This difference may be due to measures that do not properly capture men?s experience or expression of gratitude. However, such discussion seems to be beyond the limit of the current research. What stands out though is that since level of gratitude is highly predictive of well-being, male students may benefit by being invited to examine their level of gratitude and to get involved in practice and training planned to enhance gratitude during their course of study. One last point of caution may be useful. Beginning counselors often come to the counseling profession with the idea that they will be able to give others great advice and that that will make everything better for their clients. This overly simplified view of counseling could find its expression in this topic of gratitude skills. The temptation to tell people to ?look on the bright side? or to be grateful for what they have, could, if embraced without caution, lead to a preachy approach to counseling or counselor education and may run contrary to expressions of empathy for one?s struggles. Exploration of this topic of gratitude then challenges the counseling profession to not ?throw the baby out with the bathwater?. In other words, although this construct and its related interventions could be dismissed as preaching and potentially harmful to client progress, its proven relationship to many positive outcomes encourages careful exploration as to how interventions of this sort might best be utilized. Like any other counseling skill, timing, presentation and context will likely be critical to capturing the potential of gratitude as much as any other concept in counseling. 69 In conclusion, gratitude?s relationship to well-being is largely unexplored in the counseling literature. 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P., Diamond, A., de St. Aubin, E., & Mansfield, E. (1997). Stories of commitment: The psychosocial construction of generative lives. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(3), 678-694. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.72.3.678 McCullough, M. E., Emmons, R. A., & Tsang, J.-A. (2002). The grateful disposition: A conceptual and empirical topography. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 82(1), 112-127. doi: 10.1037//0022-3514.82.1.112 McCullough, M. E., Kilpatrick, S. D., Emmons, R. A., & Larson, D. B. (2001). Is gratitude a moral affect? Psychological Bulletin, 127(2), 249-266. doi: 10.1037/0033- 2909.127.2.249 McCullough, M. E., Kimeldorf, M. B., & Cohen, A. D. (2008). An adaptation for altruism? The social causes, social effects, and social evolution of gratitude. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17(4), 281-285. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8721.2008.00590.x McCullough, M. E., Tsang, J.A., & Emmons, R. A. (2004). 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Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=25179677&site=ehost -live 92 Appendix 1 93 94 Appendix 2 95 96 Appendix 3 Permission to use Appreciation Scale 97 98 99 Permission to use GQ-6 100 GQ-6 permission Inbox X Brandon Browning to mikem show details Jan 12 Dr. McCullough, I am conducting research about the relationship between well-being and gratitude in counselors-in- training and would like permission to include the Gratitude Questionnaire -6 (GQ-6) as one of the assessment tools in this research. I am excited to be learning more in this area and appreciate the extensive work you have already done in this area. Thank you, -- Brandon Browning, MCoun, NCC, LPC Doctoral student, Counselor Education Auburn University Academic Coach GTA I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder. - G.K. Chesterton Reply Forward Reply Mike McCullough to me show details Jan 12 Thanks for asking. You are very welcome to use it. Good luck in your work. ~M Michael E. McCullough, PhD Professor of Psychology University of Miami PO Box 248185 Coral Gables FL, 33124-0751 Phone: 305-284-8057 Fax: 305-284-3402 E-mail: mikem[at sign]miami[dot]edu FALL OFFICE HOURS: Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30-11, Wednesday 10AM-12PM. Please contact me first to make an appointment. 101 Permission to use MHC-SF Brandon Browning Permission to use emotional and social wellbeing instruments 2 messages Brandon Browning Thu, Dec 16, 2010 at 8:47 PM To: ckeyes@emory.edu Dr. Keyes, I am interested in using your emotional and social wellbeing assessments in combination with Dr. Ryff and your psychological well-being assessment as instruments in my research. I want to get your permission to use it for that purpose. I also would like to get your permission to create the form on Formsite.com such that I can reach more students across the nation. This is a secure site and it will only be used for the purpose of this research project. I will be looking at the relationship between different constructs of gratitude and well-being in master?s level counselors-in-training. Sincerely, -- Brandon Browning, MCoun, NCC, LPC Doctoral student, Counselor Education Auburn University Academic Coach GTA I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder. - G.K. Chesterton Keyes, Corey Fri, Dec 17, 2010 at 11:47 AM To: Brandon Browning Brandon, I have attached the MHC-SF which you can use for research purposes. This measure is also part of the Healthy Minds Study of college students. 102 Best of luck with your thesis research, Dr. Keyes From: Brandon Browning [mailto:bzb0005@gmail.com] Sent: Thursday, December 16, 2010 9:48 PM To: Keyes, Corey Subject: Permission to use emotional and social wellbeing instruments [Quoted text hidden] This e-mail message (including any attachments) is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this message (including any attachments) is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please contact the sender by reply e-mail message and destroy all copies of the original message (including attachments). MHC-SF Brief Description 6.29.10.doc 102K Permission to use 103 104