Gratitude and Forgiveness as Predictors of subjective wellbeing Among Young Adult

Abstract

Gratitude and forgiveness are positive psychological characteristics that are associated with subjective well-being. The present study examined the relationship of gratitude and forgiveness with subjective wellbeing in a Pakistani young adult population. It also studied the effectiveness of these variables in predicting subjective wellbeing and aimed to explore gender differences in these constructs. Participants were 300 undergraduate students aged 18-24 years conveniently selected from Bahria University, Karachi Campus. From the selected participants 100 were male and 200 were female. The participants completed three self-report questionnaires; The Gratitude Questionnaire (GQ-6), The Heartland Forgiveness Scale and The Flourishing Scale. Results showed that gratitude and forgiveness were both significantly positively related with subjective wellbeing. Forgiveness was also found to be a significant predictor of subjective wellbeing whereas gratitude was found to be an insignificant predictor. Gender differences were found to be significant on the construct of gratitude where females were found to score higher than males. There were no significant gender differences in overall score of forgiveness, however, females scored higher than males on subscale of Forgiveness of Others. The results imply that forgiveness and gratitude may be effectively used in psychotherapy and counselling as well-being enhancing techniques and exercises in general and specified psychotherapy population.