Relationship Between Gratitude and Quality of Life in Adolescents

Gratitude has been identified as an important dispositional trait which can impact multiple aspects of life. However, there has been an absence of research examining the associations between gratitude and quality of life in healthy populations of adolescents. This study assessed the relationship between gratitude and quality of life. Data was collected from 52 high-school students who completed assessments of both gratitude and quality of life. Analysis of the data revealed a strong, positive relationship between gratitude and quality of life (r = .503, p < .001) along with moderate relationship between self-reported gratitude and each of the PedsQL subscales (r = .391, p < .005 to r = .440, p < .005). As a secondary question, parent-report gratitude was recorded to assess the level of agreement between self and parent-reported gratitude. Of the total participants, 18 returned the proxy report of gratitude, and analysis of intraclass correlation revealed an adequate degree of reliability between self and parent-reported gratitude. These findings indicate that gratitude is an indicator of quality of life during the critical phase of adolescence and that the cultivation of gratitude may lead to greater levels of quality of life. The reliability of parent-reported gratitude further supports research which only has access to proxy reports of well-being.