Trait Gratitude and Grateful Coping as They Relate to College Student Persistence,Success,and Integration in School

Abstract

Grateful people experience more psychological well-being, social connectedness, and feelings of personal accomplishment, along with less burnout. They also use more adaptive approach-oriented coping strategies. Thus, we hypothesized that trait gratitude and grateful coping strategies would be associated with various indicators/predictors of academic retention and success, including psychological variables (social integration, academic integration, degree commitment, and general college persistence) and academic variables (number of withdrawn courses, number of failed courses, and GPA). Fifty-four undergraduates completed self-report measures of all variables except GPA, which was accessed via transcripts when permitted. At least one facet of trait gratitude was associated with each outcome variable. Grateful coping was associated primarily with the psychological outcome variables, with growth-focused coping emerging as the most consistent positive predictor and social support seeking often emerging as a negative predictor. We discuss implementing gratitude-enhancing techniques as a possible strategy for improving integration, commitment, persistence, and success in college.

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