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Cascading Effects of Gratitude: A Sequential Mediation Analysis of Gratitude, Interpersonal Relationships, School Resilience and School Well-being

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Abstract

Gratitude, like other positive emotions, has been theorized to help individuals build psychological and social resources and promote resilience and well-being. Some scholars suggest that gratitude may not generate positive outcomes in all cultures. In this study, we examined the relationship of gratitude with school resilience and school well-being, and the potential mediating role of relatedness with key social partners within an Asian cultural context. Participants in the study were 190 secondary students attending one school in Singapore. Results revealed that gratitude was positively associated with school resilience; relatedness with significant others partially mediated this association. The final model also showed a significant sequential pathway from gratitude to relatedness (with significant others), then to school resilience and then to school well-being. Practical implications and limitations of this study are presented.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the National Institute of Education (NIE), Nanyang Technological University, for offering grant support to Project Grant SUG 11/15 ISC. Part of the findings of this project was presented in this paper. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of NIE.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Office of Education Research, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Imelda S. Caleon, Nur Qamarina Binte Ilham & Jennifer Pei-Ling Tan

  2. Meridian Secondary School, Singapore, Singapore

    Chin Leng Ong

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  1. Imelda S. Caleon
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Caleon, I.S., Ilham, N.Q.B., Ong, C.L. et al. Cascading Effects of Gratitude: A Sequential Mediation Analysis of Gratitude, Interpersonal Relationships, School Resilience and School Well-being. Asia-Pacific Edu Res 28, 303–312 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-019-00440-w

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