The Effects of Gratitude Journaling on Turkish First Year College Students' College Adjustment, Life Satisfaction and Positive Affect

IŞIK Ş., Erguner-Tekinalp B.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COUNSELLING, cilt.39, sa.2, ss.164-175, 2017 (ESCI) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 39 Sayı: 2
  • Basım Tarihi: 2017
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1007/s10447-017-9289-8
  • Dergi Adı: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COUNSELLING
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.164-175
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Gratitude, Gratitude journaling, College student adjustment, First-year college students, Turkey, UNIVERSITY-STUDENTS, COUNTING BLESSINGS, PERCEIVED STRESS, NEGATIVE AFFECT, GRATEFUL, SELF, VALIDATION, PREDICTORS, TRANSITION, PSYCHOLOGY
  • Gazi Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This study examined the effects of gratitude journaling on first-year college students' adjustment, life satisfaction, and positive affect. Students who scored high (i.e., scores between 35 and 56) on the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen et al. in Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, 385-396, 1983) and low (i.e., scores between 48 and 144) on the University Life Scale (Aladag et al. in Turk Psikolojik Danisma ve Rehberlik Dergisi, 2(20), 41-47, 2003) were invited to participate in the study. Among the 24 students who met the criteria, 21 volunteered to participate. Students in the experimental group (11) kept a gratitude journal for 3 weeks, whilst those in the control group (10) were not involved in any gratitude-related activity. Results indicated that students in the experimental group had significantly higher posttest scores on gratitude, adjustment to university life, life satisfaction, and positive affect. Results related to gratitude interventions, positive emotions and college student adjustment are discussed.