ERIC Number: EJ1236238
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Nov
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2073-7629
EISSN: N/A
The Effect of Engagement in a Kindness Intervention on Adolescents' Well-Being: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Binfet, John-Tyler; Whitehead, Jenna
International Journal of Emotional Education, v11 n2 p33-49 Nov 2019
A current trend in kindness research is to assess the effect of being kind on participants' well-being. To do this, participants are asked to complete a series of kind acts and the corresponding impact on their well-being is measured. As participation in school-based interventions can vary, the aim of the current study was to assess the extent of adolescents' engagement in a kindness intervention and the resultant effect on their well-being. An intervention study was conducted in which 383 sixth through eighth graders planned and completed three kind acts per week for four weeks, with pre- and post-test assessments of well-being administered. Adolescents' acts of kindness reflected the themes of helping with chores, being respectful, complimenting/ encouraging others, and giving objects or money. No significant differences between control and intervention groups at post-test on any well-being measures were found, after controlling for pre-test scores. However, upon analysis of participants' engagement in the intervention (intervention uptake), it was determined that half of the participants (n=87) implemented less than 60% of their kindness intervention. Participants were thus clustered into three groups: zero, low, and high implementers. ANCOVAs revealed that high implementers had the lowest self-reported negative affect and highest self-reported kindness to others. Implications for adolescent prosocial development are discussed.
Descriptors: Well Being, Intervention, Pretests Posttests, Prosocial Behavior, Middle School Students, Scores, Comparative Analysis, Educational Environment, Helping Relationship, Social Development, Emotional Development, Gender Differences, Foreign Countries, Interpersonal Relationship, Computer Mediated Communication, Student Attitudes, Correlation
Centre for Resilience and Socio-Emotional Health. Old Humanities Building (OH) Room 241, University of Malta, MSD 2080, Malta. Tel: +356-2340-3014; Web site: http://www.um.edu.mt/ijee
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A