The Role of Life Satisfaction and Coping Style in the Relationship between Gratitude and School Belonging

Abstract

Many researches have already been conducted to study the effect of gratitude. Researchers have found that gratitude positively correlates to mental wellbeing, social integration, traits and performance. However, few researchers illustrated how the gratitude worked in helping students adapt themselves to school climate. This study recruited407undergraduate students to examine the relationships betweengratitude and school belonging. It was hypothesized that Gratitude was associated positively and significantly with life satisfaction and positive coping style, both of which were positively and significantly related to school belonging. And life satisfaction and positive coping style played a mediating role in the relationship between gratitude and school belonging. The hierarchical regression analyses indicated that gratitude could significantly predict positive coping style and more life satisfaction, which played a complete mediating role in the relationship of gratitude and school belonging. This research suggests that the gratitude is an effective intervention in helping students adapt themselves to school climate socially and affectively.