The Science of Gratitude: New Findings and Practical Lessons for Mentoring

By Jean Rhodes

For a long time, the science of gratitude focused mainly on adults and teens. But recent research is showing that it is never too early to learn how to be grateful. A 28-week study by Clemson University Professor and her colleagues (2024) found that even first-graders (children around six years old) can significantly boost their gratitude and overall well-being through simple 10-15 minute daily practices like journaling, writing thank-you cards, and creating gratitude collages. These findings offer evidence-based strategies for mentors to help young people recover from trauma and isolation, while building crucial emotional skills that will benefit them for a lifetime.

Gratitude Rewires Your Brain

Understanding how gratitude affects the brain can help us determine how best to integrate it into mentoring relationships. When we feel or express gratitude, the prefrontal cortex, which helps us manage our emotions and connect with others, becomes more active. This area works with the anterior cingulate cortex, involved in empathy and stress management. Most importantly, gratitude triggers the release of “feel-good” brain chemicals like dopamine and serotonin and can actually build new neural pathways, making positive thinking easier over time. A study by researchers at Indiana University found that participants who wrote gratitude letters over three weeks experienced significant changes in brain activity, with functional MRI scans revealing sustained activation in the prefrontal cortex even months after the study concluded. This neuroplasticity is particularly powerful for adolescents, whose brains are still developing and are highly responsive to positive influences. Gratitude practice can strengthen pathways linked to positive thoughts and emotional control, while weakening those tied to negativity and stress.

The Social Superpower of Gratitude

Perhaps most relevant for mentoring programs is gratitude’s profound impact on relationships. Research by Grant and Gino (2010) reveals that when young people in mentoring programs express appreciation  to their mentors, the mentors feel more valued and are motivated to offer even more support. My colleagues and I have found that mentors endorsing items like ” I’m not sure I’m making a difference” is one of the strongest predictors of early termination. Gratitude creates a positive cycle that strengthens the mentoring bond over time.

More generally, studies show that expressing gratitude can inspire generosity, build trust, and encourage helpful behavior in others, even in third-party witnesses. This suggests that group gratitude activities in mentoring programs could create a widespread positive impact throughout the entire community. Research on gratitude social processes proposes that group interventions emphasizing interpersonal gratitude exchanges (including disclosing, expressing, receiving, responding to, and witnessing gratitude) produce superior outcomes compared to individual gratitude practices. Interestingly, when the first-graders in the Hall et al. (2024) study expressed gratitude, friends were by far the most common theme, appearing nearly double that of any other category. This highlights the vital role of relationships in young people’s lives and suggests that mentoring programs are addressing a core developmental need. Family came next, followed by nature and outdoor experiences.

Benefits

Research has also indicated that gratitude can reduce risky behaviors in adolescents, and that youth with higher levels of gratitude showed greater academic interest, better academic performance, and more engagement in extracurricular activities. These findings align with Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory, which suggests that gratitude helps young people expand their thinking and build lasting psychological strengths. When teens feel grateful, they develop broader perspectives, helping them navigate life’s challenges and make healthier choices.

A meta-analysis of 64 randomized controlled trials found that gratitude interventions significantly improved life satisfaction, mental health, and reduced anxiety and depression. For mentoring programs supporting youth, this means gratitude can help them reframe negative experiences, build resilience, and maintain hope even in the face of difficulties. The neurobiological mechanisms underlying these benefits include gratitude’s ability to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting relaxation and well-being while reducing the fight-or-flight responses associated with anxiety and stress.

Studies have shown that people who feel grateful have reduced levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. This reduction in stress hormones contributes to better cardiac functioning and increased resilience when facing emotional setbacks or negative experiences. Gratitude practice also reduces anxiety and depression while helping people manage stress more effectively. The physiological benefits of gratitude extend beyond just stress reduction. Research demonstrates that gratitude practice leads to improved sleep quality, reduced inflammatory biomarkers, and better cardiovascular health. For mentoring programs working with youth who have experienced trauma or adverse childhood experiences, these physical benefits complement the psychological improvements, offering holistic support for healthy development.

How Mentoring Programs Can Use Gratitude

The research offers clear guidelines for incorporating gratitude into mentoring programs. The Hall et al. (2024) study demonstrated that gratitude interventions can be successfully implemented with minimal teacher training and disruption to existing schedules. The teacher in their study indicated that after a few weeks of modeling, students as young as six years old were able to engage in the gratitude practices independently.

The most effective approach is to integrate regular gratitude practices throughout the mentoring relationship, not just for special events. Programs should train mentors in how to facilitate gratitude, offering structured opportunities for both individual and group experiences. The Hall study’s three-part approach, including daily journaling, weekly thank-you notes, and creative collage, offers a practical model that mentoring programs can easily adapt.

Simple prompts like “What are you grateful for about our time together today?” or structured activities like writing thank-you notes to important people can yield significant benefits. The key is consistency and weaving gratitude naturally into mentoring activities rather than treating it as an add-on or special exercise.

Mentors should learn not only how to encourage gratitude in their mentees but also how to appropriately receive and respond to expressions of appreciation. Research shows that accepting gratitude gracefully rather than deflecting it teaches young people that their appreciation has value and impact.  Training could also cover how to create group-based gratitude experiences that leverage the social processes described in recent research (e.g., peer appreciation activities, or community service projects). They should also address how gratitude expression varies across cultural contexts while maintaining the core benefits of appreciation and social connection. Programs should also explore technology-enhanced interventions, such as messages and nudges that prompt regular gratitude practice.