Receiving a gift from God in times of trouble: links between gratitude to God, the affective circumplex, and perceived closeness to God

Abstract

We investigated how gratitude to God (GTG) functions within the context of negative events. Specifically, we sought to locate the position of GTG within the affective circumplex and to test whether GTG relates to higher levels of perceived closeness to God (PCTG). In a cross-sectional study, participants (N = 142 U.S. undergraduate believers in God) completed self-report measures pertaining to a negative event (and positive event, for comparison purposes). Supporting preregistered hypotheses, (a) GTG was located in the pleasant half of the affective circumplex (in the activated quadrant for the negative event and the deactivated quadrant for the positive event), and (b) GTG associated with higher levels of PCTG uniquely from affect, general gratitude, and the tendency to draw close to God when stressed (for both events). These results contribute to nascent knowledge about GTG and underscore the potential importance of GTG in the process of growing spiritually through adversity..

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