Measuring the Triad of Positive Emotional Strengths: Gratitude, Life Satisfaction, and Hope

Autor/in	Huebner, Scott
Titel	Measuring the Triad of Positive Emotional Strengths: Gratitude, Life Satisfaction, and Hope
Quelle	In: Communique, 47 (2019) 5, S.1 (2 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0164-775X
Schlagwörter	Positive Attitudes; Well Being; Life Satisfaction; Psychological Patterns; Emotional Response; Mental Health; At Risk Students; School Psychologists + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Well-being; Wellness; Wohlbefinden; Lebensvollendung; Emotionales Verhalten; Psychohygiene; School psychologist; Psychologists; School; Schools; Schulpsychologe; Schulpsychologin; Psychologe; Psychologin; Psychologen; Schule
Abstract	Positive mental health is more than the absence of psychological symptoms. Considerable research has focused on positive indicators of strengths, including emotional strengths such as gratitude, life satisfaction, and hope. These three constructs, which have been referred to as the "triad of positive emotions"represent emotional responses relative to three differing time perspectives. These include gratitude for past experiences, life satisfaction with current experiences, and hope for positive future experiences. These constructs have been demonstrated to be related, but distinct aspects of emotional well-being. All three constructs have also been shown to be not only byproducts of favorable life events, but also predictors or moderators of positive life outcomes (e.g., academic success, positive classroom behavior), reflecting their status as mental health strengths or protective factors. When evaluated with measures of psychological symptoms in the context of the dual-factor model, measures of such constructs enable the identification of a group of at-risk youth who report low emotional well-being but fail to display significant psychological symptoms. Despite the relative absence of psychological symptoms, this group of students displays academic and behavior difficulties similar to students who report low emotional well-being along with a significant level of psychological symptoms. However, in the absence of information pertaining to their emotional strengths, this at-risk group would not be identified, thus likely preventing professional attention to their mental health needs. For school psychologists who are interested in assessing these emotional strengths, brief self-report measures are available that have shown good psychometric properties. These measures include the following: (1) Gratitude can be assessed using the Gratitude Questionnaire-6 (GQ-6; McCullough, Emmons, & Tsang, 2002) with children from ages 10 to 19; (2) Life satisfaction can be measured using the Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (SLSS; Huebner, 1991); and (3) Hope can be addressed through the Children's Hope Scale. Taken together, these three brief measures encompass three important psychological strengths that provide a valuable window into youth perceptions of positive mental health. Given the brevity of each of the measures, school psychologists can efficiently gather strengths-based information in a very short period of time for more nuanced mental health screenings. (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	National Association of School Psychologists. 4340 East West Highway Suite 402, Bethesda, MD 20814. Tel: 301-657-0270; Fax: 301-657-0275; e-mail: publications@naspweb.org; Web site: http://www.nasponline.org/publications/
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01