The effect of gratitude practice on psychological resilience and emotion regulation in adolescents

2. ABSTRACT THE EFFECT OF GRATITUDE PRACTICE ON PSYCHOLOGICAL RESILIENCE AND EMOTION REGULATION IN ADOLESCENTS This study was conducted using a randomized controlled experimental design to examine the effects of gratitude practice on psychological resilience and emotion regulation skills. The research was carried out between April 2025 and May 2025 with adolescent students studying at an Anatolian High School. The sample was determined using the G*Power program and consisted of 50 participants in the experimental group and 50 in the control group. The experimental group received a gratitude practice intervention consisting of five sessions, while the control group received no intervention. Pre-tests and post-tests were administered. Data were collected face-to-face by the researcher in two stages: before (pre-test) and after (post-test) the intervention. The Personal Information Form, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale – Short Form, and the Child and Youth Resilience Measure were used for data collection. The data were analyzed using the SPSS software package, and the significance level was set at p<.05. To identify any differences and to confirm that the selected groups shared similar characteristics prior to the intervention, the pre-test mean scores of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (5.93±0.59) and the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (6.43±1.24) were examined. No significant differences were found between the experimental and control groups at the pre-test stage (p=0.062, p=0.475). Following the gratitude practice, post-test scores of the experimental and control groups were compared, revealing statistically significant differences (p=0.001). Subsequently, ANCOVA analyses were conducted on the scales and their subdimensions to control for the effect of pre-tests, and the main and interaction effects of gratitude practice and group were evaluated. Statistically significant differences were found (p<0.05). As a result of the study, statistically significant differences were observed between the pre-test and post-test scores of students in the experimental group. Emotion regulation difficulties decreased (2.54±0.13), while psychological resilience levels increased (4.00±0.56) among individuals who participated in the gratitude practice. Keywords: Psychological Resilience, Emotion Regulation, Adolescents, Psychiatric Nursing, Randomized Controlled Trial, Gratitude, Gratitude Practice