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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.
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