Feeling grateful and envious: adolescents’ narratives of social emotions in identity and social development

This paper is based on data collected from the first author’s Master’s thesis.

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic Information (N = 25).

Variable	n	%
Participant gender
Girl	13	52
Boy	12	48
Participant grade
9th grade	17	68
10th grade	8	32
Participant race
Caucasian	12	48
African American	12	48
Other (not specified)	1	4
Religion
Catholic	16	64
Other Christian	9	36
Reporter of demographics
Mother	20	80
Father	5	20
Parental marital status
Married/Engaged	19	76
Single	2	8
Separated/Divorced	3	12
Did not answer	1	4
Parental education
Less than high school	1	4
High school	3	12
Some college/post-high school training	11	44
Bachelor’s degree	7	28
Advanced degree	3	12
Income level
$30,000–$59,999	5	20
$60,000–$99,999	5	20
$100,000–$199,999	3	12
Did not answer	12	48

Table 2. Why adolescents grateful and envious.

Themes and repeating ideas	Frequency of theme (Hill, 2012)
A. Envy of material things	Typical (14)
Envy of material possessions/wealth
But I really wanted it
B. Gratitude and feeling cared for and special	General (24)
Participant does something nice for others
Gratitude for the ‘little things’
Gratitude for teachers
Gratitude for friends
Participant offers help to a parent
Gratitude for receiving help
Gratitude and feeling special
Gratitude for giving homework help
Participant offers help to a sibling
Participant as a gift giver
Getting what I wanted
Participant offers to help a friend
Participant gratitude for gift or material object
Feeling cared for as a result of gratitude action
Inclusion
Recognition of effort/sacrifice
Gratitude for parents and family (other than siblings)
C. Gratitude for recognition and opportunities	Variant (4)
Gratitude for recognition of accomplishment
Gratitude for opportunity
D. Envy of relationships, appearance, personality, popularity, and achievement	Typical (19)
Envy of siblings
Envy of physical attributes (i.e. hair)
Envy of girlfriends and boyfriends
Envy of achievement
Envy of personality
Envy of status and reputation
Envy of driving

Notes:

Frequencies of the themes are based on the following guidelines (Hill, 2012): general (24 or 25 participants), typical (between 13 and 23 participants), and variant (between 4 and 12 participants).

Table 3. Adolescents’ responses to gratitude and envy.

Themes and repeating ideas	Frequency of theme (Hill, 2012)
Conventional responses to gratitude and envy	Variant (23)
Unexpressed/implicit gratitude
Envy of frequency
Gratitude frequency
Envy and silence
Unexpressed envy
Anger as envy response
Non-verbal expression of gratitude
Happy as gratitude response
Verbal expression of gratitude
Meeting expectations	Variant (4)
Gratitude for meeting expectations
Envy for doing what you are supposed to do
Use of reason	Typical (13)
Envy as a motivator
Gratitude as a motivator
Make envier feel better
Using reasoning to feel better
Avoiding envy
Mixed and other negative feelings associated with envy	Variant (10)
Envy resulting in frustration
Envy resulting in negative comparison
Contradiction in dealing with envy
Reciprocity (gratitude) and payback (envy)	Variant (12)
1. Reciprocity
2. Direct discussion/argument between envier and envied

Notes:

Frequencies of the themes are based on the following guidelines (Hill, 2012): general (24 or 25 participants), typical (between 13 and 23 participants) and variant (between 4 and 12 participants).

Hill, C. (2012). Consensual qualitative research: A practical resource for investigating social science phenomena. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

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