Published

2023-06-01

"Gratitude is Thanking Someone, and Happiness Is Showing It": A Qualitative Study of Colombian Children's Perspectives on Gratitude

“La Gratitud es Agradecer a Alguien, y la Felicidad es Mostrarlo”: Un Estudio Cualitativo de las Perspectivas de Niños Colombianos Sobre la Gratitud

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15446/rcp.v32n2.100130

Keywords:

Benefactors, children's emotions, family, gender, gratitude expression, type of schooling (en)
benefactores, emociones infantiles, expresión de gratitud, familia, género, tipo de escolaridad (es)

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As a character strength, gratitude is linked with positive emotions and can potentially provide many benefits to children and adolescents. Yet little is known about how and why children typically experience gratitude, and how to promote its development. We conducted 10 focus groups and written exercises with 38 Colombian fifth-graders (19 girls and 19 boys), from one public school and two private schools, to explore different components of their gratitude experiences, namely, the benefactors, benefits, feelings, and behavioral expressions associated with gratitude, using a theoretical/ deductive thematic analysis. There were many commonalities in the themes of the gratitude elements found in both girls’ and boys’ answers, and in both public and private schools. One element of gratitude not anticipated in the analysis was the degree of effort that children saw benefactors (particularly family members) investing in them. These findings can be used to inform educational interventions, making them more relevant to children in Colombian and other Latin American contexts.

La gratitud como fortaleza del carácter está relacionada con las emociones positivas y potencialmente puede brindar muchos beneficios a los niños y adolescentes. Sin embargo, se sabe poco sobre cómo y por qué los niños suelen experimentar la gratitud y cómo promover su desarrollo. Realizamos 10 grupos focales y ejercicios escritos con 38 estudiantes colombianos de quinto grado (19 niñas y 19 niños), de una escuela pública y dos escuelas privadas, para explorar diferentes componentes de sus experiencias de gratitud: los benefactores, los beneficios, los sentimientos y las expresiones comportamentales asociadas a la gratitud, mediante un análisis temático teórico/deductivo. Hubo muchos puntos en común en los temas de los elementos de gratitud que se encuentran en las respuestas de las niñas y los niños, y en las escuelas públicas y privadas. Un elemento de gratitud que no se anticipó en el análisis fue el grado de esfuerzo que los niños vieron que los benefactores (particularmente los miembros de la familia) invertían en ellos. Estos hallazgos pueden usarse para informar intervenciones educativas, haciéndolas más relevantes para los niños en contextos urbanos de Colombia y otros contextos latinoamericanos.

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How to Cite

APA

Ingram, G. P., Gómez, Y., Ibarra, M. C., Jaramillo, P. E., Robles, K. D. & Carrillo, S. (2023). "Gratitude is Thanking Someone, and Happiness Is Showing It": A Qualitative Study of Colombian Children’s Perspectives on Gratitude. Revista Colombiana de Psicología, 32(2), 33–50. https://doi.org/10.15446/rcp.v32n2.100130

ACM

[1]
Ingram, G.P., Gómez, Y., Ibarra, M.C., Jaramillo, P.E., Robles, K.D. and Carrillo, S. 2023. "Gratitude is Thanking Someone, and Happiness Is Showing It": A Qualitative Study of Colombian Children’s Perspectives on Gratitude. Revista Colombiana de Psicología. 32, 2 (Jun. 2023), 33–50. DOI:https://doi.org/10.15446/rcp.v32n2.100130.

ACS

(1)
Ingram, G. P.; Gómez, Y.; Ibarra, M. C.; Jaramillo, P. E.; Robles, K. D.; Carrillo, S. "Gratitude is Thanking Someone, and Happiness Is Showing It": A Qualitative Study of Colombian Children’s Perspectives on Gratitude. Rev. colomb. psicol. 2023, 32, 33-50.

ABNT

INGRAM, G. P.; GÓMEZ, Y.; IBARRA, M. C.; JARAMILLO, P. E.; ROBLES, K. D.; CARRILLO, S. "Gratitude is Thanking Someone, and Happiness Is Showing It": A Qualitative Study of Colombian Children’s Perspectives on Gratitude. Revista Colombiana de Psicología, [S. l.], v. 32, n. 2, p. 33–50, 2023. DOI: 10.15446/rcp.v32n2.100130. Disponível em: https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/psicologia/article/view/100130. Acesso em: 16 mar. 2026.

Chicago

Ingram, Gordon P.D., Yvonne Gómez, Marta Carolina Ibarra, Patricia Elena Jaramillo, Karen Daniela Robles, and Sonia Carrillo. 2023. “‘Gratitude is Thanking Someone, and Happiness Is Showing It’: A Qualitative Study of Colombian Children’s Perspectives on Gratitude”. Revista Colombiana De Psicología 32 (2):33-50. https://doi.org/10.15446/rcp.v32n2.100130.

Harvard

Ingram, G. P., Gómez, Y., Ibarra, M. C., Jaramillo, P. E., Robles, K. D. and Carrillo, S. (2023) “‘Gratitude is Thanking Someone, and Happiness Is Showing It’: A Qualitative Study of Colombian Children’s Perspectives on Gratitude”, Revista Colombiana de Psicología, 32(2), pp. 33–50. doi: 10.15446/rcp.v32n2.100130.

IEEE

[1]
G. P. Ingram, Y. Gómez, M. C. Ibarra, P. E. Jaramillo, K. D. Robles, and S. Carrillo, “‘Gratitude is Thanking Someone, and Happiness Is Showing It’: A Qualitative Study of Colombian Children’s Perspectives on Gratitude”, Rev. colomb. psicol., vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 33–50, Jun. 2023.

MLA

Ingram, G. P., Y. Gómez, M. C. Ibarra, P. E. Jaramillo, K. D. Robles, and S. Carrillo. “‘Gratitude is Thanking Someone, and Happiness Is Showing It’: A Qualitative Study of Colombian Children’s Perspectives on Gratitude”. Revista Colombiana de Psicología, vol. 32, no. 2, June 2023, pp. 33-50, doi:10.15446/rcp.v32n2.100130.

Turabian

Ingram, Gordon P.D., Yvonne Gómez, Marta Carolina Ibarra, Patricia Elena Jaramillo, Karen Daniela Robles, and Sonia Carrillo. “‘Gratitude is Thanking Someone, and Happiness Is Showing It’: A Qualitative Study of Colombian Children’s Perspectives on Gratitude”. Revista Colombiana de Psicología 32, no. 2 (June 1, 2023): 33–50. Accessed March 16, 2026. https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/psicologia/article/view/100130.

Vancouver

1.
Ingram GP, Gómez Y, Ibarra MC, Jaramillo PE, Robles KD, Carrillo S. "Gratitude is Thanking Someone, and Happiness Is Showing It": A Qualitative Study of Colombian Children’s Perspectives on Gratitude. Rev. colomb. psicol. [Internet]. 2023 Jun. 1 [cited 2026 Mar. 16];32(2):33-50. Available from: https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/psicologia/article/view/100130

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CrossRef citations2

1. Sonia Carrillo, Yvonne Gómez-Maquet, Gordon Ingram, Juan Pablo Molano Gallardo. (2025). Expedition Gratitude : Evaluation of an Educational Program to Promote Gratitude in Colombian Schools . Research in Human Development, 22(1), p.56. https://doi.org/10.1080/15427609.2025.2524300.

2. Alice J. Davidson, Gordon P. D. Ingram, Mackenzie Mann, Isabella Espino. (2026). Making Meaning of Conflict: Motivational Processes Underlying Resentment, Retaliation, and Forgiveness in Colombian Emerging Adults’ Narratives. Emerging Adulthood, https://doi.org/10.1177/21676968261426032.

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