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

DOI:10.1007/s10447-017-9289-8
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Şerife Işık
Şerife Işık
Şerife Işık
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Bengu Erguner-Tekinalp at Drake University
Bengu Erguner-Tekinalp
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Abstract

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 (Aladağ et al. in Türk Psikolojik Danışma 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 post-test 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.
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
The Effects of Gratitude Journaling on Turkish First Year
College Students’College Adjustment, Life Satisfaction
and Positive Affect
Şerife Işık
1,2
&Bengü Ergüner-Tekinalp
3
Published online: 7 March 2017
#Springer Science+Business Media New York 2017
Abstract 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 (Aladağet al. in Türk Psikolojik
Danışma 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 post-
test 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.
Keywords Gratitude .Gratitude journaling .College student adjustment .First-year college
students .Turkey
Int J Adv Counselling (2017) 39:164–175
DOI 10.1007/s10447-017-9289-8
*Bengü Ergüner-Tekinalp
bengu.tekinalp@drake.edu
Şerife Işık
serife@gazi.edu.tr
1
Department of Educational Sciences, Psychological Counseling and Guidance, Gazi University,
Ankara, Turkey
2
Gazi Üniversitesi Gazi Eğitim Fakültesi, Beşevler, Ankara, Turkey 06500
3
Department of Leadership and Counseling, Drake University, 123 Education Building, Des Moines,
IA 50311, USA
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
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