Based on cultural-ecological theory, the development of appreciation depends on culture (e.g., China), everyday activities and interactions (e.g., parenting goals and behaviors), personal characteristics (e.g., parental education), and time, and their interconnected associations. However, previous studies focusing on children’s appreciation have not been adequately based on theory, have conflated appreciation and gratitude, and have mismatched conceptualization and operationalization. Therefore, using a sample of 496 Chinese parent–child dyads (child M age = 10.25, 53.6% females; Wave 1, W1), the study examined, over three waves (with an approximately eight-month interval between waves), the interdependent relations among parental socialization goals (PSG) and behaviors (PSB) for child appreciation, children’s appreciation, and the moderating role of parental educational level (at W1) in such associations. Results indicated that PSG at W1 related to PSG and PSB at Wave 3 (W3) via children’s appreciation at Wave 2 (W2) when children’s gratitude was not included. Children’s gratitude at W1/W2 related to subsequent PSG/PSB at W2/W3 regardless of parental educational level, with PSG at W1 associated with children’s appreciation at W2 only when parents had a high school diploma or above. Such findings highlight the interdependent associations and role of parental educational level in parent–child interactions regarding children’s appreciation, and the importance of treating appreciation and gratitude differently.

Extant research on parents' understanding of gratitude and the socialization of gratitude in children has primarily been conducted in Western cultural contexts. To address this gap, this interview-based qualitative study explored the perspectives of 50 Chinese parents (25 mothers and 25 fathers) regarding their understanding of gratitude, their socialization strategies for gratitude, and potential gender-differentiated approaches to teaching gratitude. Our findings revealed that the Chinese parents in this study perceived gratitude as encompassing various components, including feeling grateful for the motherland and the predecessors, giving back to the society, feeling grateful toward benefactors with a desire to reciprocate the benefactors, and expressing gratitude toward parents and family members. Regarding gratitude socialization strategies, the results indicated that the Chinese parents typically employed training and role modeling to cultivate their children's gratitude. As compared to the Chinese fathers, the mothers took the primary responsibility for gratitude socialization. Notably, mothers were consistent in their socialization practices regardless of whether they had a son or daughter. In contrast, fathers tended to differentiate their approach based on the child's gender: fathers of sons were more actively involved in gratitude-related discussions, emphasizing conversations about gratitude more frequently with their sons than fathers with daughters did. These findings provide empirical evidence supporting tenets of our theoretical frameworks and offer critical insights for designing intervention programs aimed at promoting children's gratitude development, particularly in Chinese cultural contexts.

Most extant research on parental socialization for child appreciation has either conflated appreciation and gratitude or fallen foul of a conceptual-operational mismatch, yielding theoretical controversies and inconsistent results. Using a matched conceptualization and operationalization of appreciation and based on three waves of data from 496 Chinese parent-child dyads (child age M = 10.25, SD = .69; 51.6% girls at Wave 1), this study examines: (a) associations among parental socialization goals and behaviors (e.g., I pointed out to my child that they have received something special) for child appreciation, parents' own appreciation, and children's appreciation; and (b) similarities and differences between appreciation and gratitude socialization processes. Results indicated that parental appreciation socialization goals at Wave 1 positively related to children's appreciation at Wave 3 (i.e., 16 months later) via a positive association with parental socialization behaviors at Wave 2 (i.e., 8 months later). This mediation disappeared after incorporating parents' own appreciation at Wave 2, which uniquely and positively related to children's appreciation at Wave 3. When simultaneously including parents' own appreciation and gratitude at Wave 2, only their appreciation positively related to both children's appreciation and gratitude at Wave 3. Such findings highlight the importance of promoting parents' own appreciation when facilitating children's appreciation and differentiating between appreciation and gratitude.

Resumo A Escala RASH (relação, autonomia, separação e heteronomia) foi desenvolvida para investigar padrões de self em estudos transculturais. No presente estudo, foi realizada uma análise fatorial da escala RASH em amostras brasileiras e norte-americanas, com o objetivo de fornecer uma medida de quatro fatores com bons índices de ajuste. Buscou-se confirmar o padrão de self autônomo-relacionado nas duas amostras e também a relação entre o nível de escolaridade dos pais e tipos de valores que desejam para seus filhos. Coletou-se dados de 756 participantes (EUA, n = 519, Brasil, n = 237), pais ou responsáveis por alunos de 7 a 14 anos. Foram realizadas análise fatorial exploratória e confirmatória, medidas de invariância e estatísticas básicas como média, desvio padrão e correlação. Os resultados corroboram uma estrutura de quatro fatores do instrumento e os padrões autorrelatados nas duas culturas. O instrumento pode auxiliar em pesquisas transculturais sobre o desenvolvimento de valores e captar diferenças entre culturas.

Apresentam-se resultados de um estudo cujos objetivos foram identificaro que crianças e adolescentes mais valorizam e se esses valores mudam emfunção da idade. Especificamente testaram-se as hipóteses de que, com aidade, haveria: (a) uma diminuição na frequência de valores hedonistase (b) um aumento na frequência de valores relacionados ao bem-estar deoutras pessoas. Os participantes foram 396 jovens de 7 a 14 anos, 58,6%do sexo feminino, estudantes de três escolas públicas (61,1% da amostra)e de duas escolas privadas de Porto Alegre/RS. Esses jovens responderamà pergunta: “O que tu mais queres?”. Submeteram suas respostas a umaanálise de conteúdo, classificando-as em três tipos de valores: hedonistas,relativos ao próprio bem-estar e relacionados ao bem-estar de outros.Para testar as hipóteses, utilizou-se da análise de regressão. Os resultadosindicaram um declínio linear dos valores hedonistas com a idade. Todavia,não se verificou um aumento significativo na frequência de valoresrelacionados ao bem-estar de outros. Constatou-se ainda um aumento significativo,com a idade, da proporção de valores relacionados ao própriobem-estar. Esses resultados são discutidos considerando-se o processo deassimilação e hierarquização de valores na infância e na adolescência, bemcomo algumas características da cultura ocidental contemporânea

Gratitude scholarship, whether in the close relationships or developmental literature, currently lacks a coherent framework. The term gratitude is used for a wide variety of constructs, and there is rarely a clear link between conceptualization and operationalization. We think that gratitude should be considered a moral virtue, involving the desire to reciprocate in some kind or helpful way to one's intentional benefactors. Our goal is thus to provide a mid-range theoretical framework for the study of the development of gratitude as a virtue. The theory from which this framework is derived is cultural-ecological theory.

Gratitude has been previously defined as a tendency to appreciate positives in life, thus conflating gratitude and components of well-being. Accordingly, current measures assessing "gratitude" are primarily based on this conflated conceptualization, and do not adequately assess gratitude as a moral virtue. The Gratitude Assessment Questionnaire (GAQ-C) was developed to assess child virtuous gratitude (VG). This study evaluates the psychometric properties of the GAQ-C in 641 Chinese children (M-age = 10.70, SD = 4.48), showing it to be a reliable and valid measure to assess Chinese child VG. Specifically, results of confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that virtuous gratitude consists of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components. Furthermore, child VG measured by the GAQ-C was associated positively with parental appreciation socialization, unlike child appreciation assessed by the 6-item Gratitude Questionnaire (GQ-6). Additionally, child VG was related to child depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, daily gratitude behaviors, and prosocial behaviors. Such results provide evidence of conceptual differences between gratitude and appreciation.

Our interest is in the development of gratitude as a moral virtue, and its variability across different cultural contexts. Given psychology's overreliance on samples collected from the United Sates, Western Europe, and Australasia, we contrasted patterns of age-related expressions of gratitude among a sample of U.S. 7- to 14-year-old children with those from same-age samples from Brazil, China, Russia, South Korea, and Turkey (N = 2,540, 54.7% female, Mage = 10.61 years). The U.S. sample was diverse (n = 730: Black 26.4%, White 40.4%, Latinx 19.9%, Asian 3.8%, Other 1.6%, Missing 7.0%; 55.7% female, Mage = 10.52 years). The remaining samples were largely homogeneous by ethnicity. Our data were gathered using one quantitative scale to measure variations in the extent of gratitude that children expressed, and one qualitative measure to assess variability in the types of gratitude expressed by children of different ages. Both measures were chosen for their fit with the definition of virtuous gratitude. Hypotheses that the U.S. sample would differ from the others in extent and type of gratitude were largely supported. However, age-related differences in the type of gratitude expressed were similar across societies (e.g., in most samples older children were less likely to express concrete gratitude and more likely to express connective gratitude). Our results reveal the importance of treating gratitude as a virtue that develops during childhood and that is influenced by one's cultural group. Reliance on samples from a limited set of cultures is thus to be avoided. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Bronfenbrenner's ecological (and later bioecological) theory has been a mainstay in the theoretical wheelhouse of developmental and family sciences since its inception in the 1970s. However, few studies accurately operationalize Bronfenbrenner's process-person-context-time (PPCT) research model. The aim of this paper is to provide a practical guide to the design, implementation, and analysis of PPCT research studies. Using recent qualitative and quantitative publications from developmental and family science journals, we illustrate how his theory can be operationalized simply and effectively in 21st-century research. The eight studies, three qualitative and five quantitative, feature participants from Chile, China, South Africa, Turkey, and the United States.

We propose an adaptation of Urie Bronfenbrenner's bioecological theory, neo-ecological theory. As bioecological theory was developed in the 20(th) century, it requires significant modifications to reflect some of the most ubiquitous contexts in which adolescents learn, play, and grow-the technological and virtual ones. Although several scholars have developed laudable theories related to youth development in virtual contexts, the field lacks an overarching theory to address the intersection of development and technology. In developing neo-ecological theory, we hold true to the tenets of bioecological theory, but suggest key modifications to reflect our technologized world. We delineate a key alteration to the microsystem, namely the existence of two types of microsystems-physical and virtual. In addition, we emphasize the importance of macrosystemic influences (i.e., the influences of culture and within-society subcultural variation) in understanding development in the digital age. The implications of these modifications cascade across the Process-Person-Context-Time (PPCT) model; proximal processes, person characteristics, context, and time are all reexamined. In the digital age, virtual microsystems are central contexts in which youth engage in proximal processes. As such, we believe that all scholars of development, regardless of their specific research interests, should consider the ways digital contexts influence their outcomes of interest. Without it, practitioners, policy makers, parents, and technologists will be in the dark about how best to support adolescents.

Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the possible relations between sibling care level and the areas of interest in adolescents’ life purposes. Participants were 113 adolescents. The instruments were a record of socio-demographic data, the household tasks and Sibling Care Questionnaire, and a written testimony on life purpose. We identified 347 life projects, which were grouped into the following categories: career, family, possessions, happiness, and generosity. The results of the Pearson’s correlations indicated positive associations between sibling care and generosity and career. Thus, there is a tendency that adolescents who take care of their younger siblings have more life projects related to assisting the family of origin and to professional development. These results suggest that taking care of younger siblings may influence the areas of interest of adolescents’ life purposes.

Urie Bronfenbrenner is almost certainly best known for his theoretical writings about the ecology of human development. His interest in theory was not, however, separate from his practical concerns, particularly those related to early education and care of children and the families and teachers who interact with them. From the role that he played in the development of Head Start in the United States to his final publications, we show that his theory, as it developed over the course of three phases, was both influenced by and an influencer of his practical concerns.

Although Bronfenbrenner's bioecological theory is heavily cited, one of its major concepts—proximal processes—has received relatively little attention. We explore the definition and properties of proximal process as the “engines of development,” analyze how proximal processes are distinguished from Bronfenbrenner's discussions of “process,” and consider whether proximal processes are always positive. Bronfenbrenner viewed proximal processes as having positive effects on development (by increasing competency or buffering dysfunction); to expand this concept, we propose the notion of inverse proximal processes, which in higher levels produce dysfunction and reduce competency. In keeping with Bronfenbrenner's thinking, these inverse proximal processes would have stronger effects in disadvantaged environments. We thus offer a broader framework for understanding the impact of everyday activities and interactions occurring over time in human development. Discussions of the sort we propose here are essential to the advancement of theories of human development, and, we hope, their more appropriate use.

Current scholarship on “gratitude” has largely ignored its opposite – ingratitude. As a result, gratitude is no longer distinguishable from constructs such as appreciation and happiness. This was not the case over previous centuries – ingratitude was viewed as something monstrous, a failure to reciprocate would loosen the bonds holding society together. The opposite, gratitude, was seen as a virtue. Reciprocity has come under attack because “obligation” has been understood in only one of two possible senses. The first relates to contracts and justice – one has a heteronomous obligation to pay off a debt or fulfill a contract. The second is a sense of obligation that comes from within, autonomously – the desire to help those that have helped us. Here, we argue, is where gratitude and ingratitude are situated. This view has two important consequences; one relates to the measurement of gratitude and the other to raising youth to be grateful people.

Urie Bronfenbrenner spent much of his academic life designing and then refining what came to be known as the bioecological theory of human development. During this process, he came to a working operationalization of his theory – what he termed the process-person-context-time (PPCT) model. However, for all of the effort that he put into refining the theory, he provided very little information on how to apply the theory, or even the PPCT model, in research. In this paper we therefore suggest a way in which the theory can be operationalized more effectively, laying out the steps that we think should be followed. Specifically, these include (a) deciding on the developmental outcome of interest; (b) operationalizing the proximal processes most relevant to the outcome of interest; (c) operationalizing relevant person, context, and time factors, such that at least two contexts are included, in both contexts can be found persons who vary in their characteristics of interest, and data are gathered over time. Finally, and most importantly, the researcher must take seriously the fact that these interacting variables operate synergistically rather than independently. In this paper, our aim is to explain the importance of these four aspects and provide examples to help researchers who wish to use bioecological theory as its author intended.

Before exploring how Urie Bronfenbrenner's theories of human development influence and contribute to the field of early childhood education (ECE), this chapter explores the development of Bronfenbrenner's theory across his career, ending with an in-depth discussion of the bioecological model of human development, and the importance of proximal processes and the Process-Person-Context-Time (PPCT) model for ECE. Rather than being discrete variables, all four components of the PPCT model function interdependently and synergistically. The mesosystem is an important component of context in the lives of young children because it allows for an analysis of the transitions between microsystems (e.g., drop-off and pick-up from school, moving from outdoor recess to indoor activities, the move from preschool to elementary school). Exosystems have an indirect influence on the proximal processes of a developing child. Like exosystems, the influence of macrosystems is indirect, but they operate at a societal, cultural, or sub-cultural level.

Cicero (54 bc/2009) held that gratitude “is not only the greatest, but is also the parent of all the other virtues” (p. 80). For centuries philosophers (Hume, 1739–40/2007; Mather, 1732; Smith, 1759/2000) and writers (e.g., Dickens [1860–1861/1996], Great Expectations, and Shakespeare [1605/2005], King Lear) have seemed to agree with Cicero, at least considering gratitude as a virtue and treating ingratitude as a moral failing. Moreover, human beings are not alone in responding positively to those who have provided them with help (de Waal, 2006, 2010). Nonetheless, gratitude is clearly not something that is innate (Emmons & Shelton, 2002), and therefore, its development is worthy of study.

O presente estudo visou investigar as percepcoes e sentimentos maternos diante das aquisicoes de desenvolvimento da crianca dos 18 aos 20 meses. Participaram 14 maes primiparas, com idades entre 20 e 37 anos, de niveis socioeconomicos variados, residentes com o marido na regiao metropolitana de Porto Alegre. Foi realizada e submetida a analise qualitativa de conteudo uma entrevista semiestruturada que abordava a experiencia da maternidade e o desenvolvimento da crianca. Buscou-se examinar semelhancas e particularidades das percepcoes e sentimentos maternos ante as aquisicoes de desenvolvimento infantil. Os resultados revelaram um incremento nas aquisicoes de linguagem, motoras, socioemocionais e intelectual-cognitivas. As criancas demandaram maior atencao e disponibilidade materna, acarretando nas maes sentimentos positivos, negativos e ambivalentes. E importante que a mae compreenda as aquisicoes proprias desse periodo, pois isso contribuira para que ela lide mais adequadamente com uma relacao que oscila entre dependencia e independencia.