Content area
Full text
The present research explored the relationship between gratitude and happiness in college students. It was hypothesized that there is likely to be a relationship between gratitude and happiness. It was also hypothesized that gratitude will be the predictor of happiness in college students. The sample was comprised of n= 100 (50 girls & 50 boys) from different colleges (private & public) of Lahore. Subjective Happiness Scale by Sonja Lyubomirsky and Lepper (1999) and Gratitude Questionnaire-Six Item Form (GQ-6) by McCullough, Emmons, and Tsang (2001) were used to assess happiness and gratitude in college students. Pearson product moment correlation, Simple Linear regression and independent sample t-test were applied to generate results. Results suggest that there is significant positive relationship between gratitude and happiness. Gratitude also predicted happiness in college students. No significant gender difference was observed between gratitude and happiness. Significant difference was found between gratitude and happiness at 1st level and the last level students. The findings of this research have implications for adaptation of gratitude tendencies in Pakistani youth.
Keywords: happiness, gratitude and college students
Gratitude means thankfulness, counting your blessings, noticing simple pleasures, and acknowledging everything that you receive. It means learning to live your life as if everything is a miracle, and being aware on a continuous basis of how much you've been given, a sense of wonder (Emmons & Shelton, 2002). Gratitude is most simply defined as "being aware of and thankful for the good things that happen" (Park & Peterson, 2006). While moral philosophers and religious thinkers have recognized gratitude as being beneficial to experiencing a happy and good life for centuries. Scientific researchers have only recently begun to systematically study gratitude (Peterson & Seligman, 2004).
Behavioral and psychological research has shown the surprising life improvements that can stem from the practice of gratitude. Emmons and McCulloug (2003) examined the effect of gratitude on psychological and physical well-being. Giving thanks make people happier and more resilient; it strengthens relationships, reduces stress and improves health. It also helps in enhancing self-worth (Sheldon & Lyubomirsky, 2006b; Toepfer & Walker, 2009).
Happiness or subjective well-being (SWB) is defined as the balance between frequent positive effect, infrequent negative effect and a high level of life satisfaction (Diener, 1984).
An individual leading a life...