Abstract
The present research adopted both an individual and a sociocultural approach to expand previous knowledge of the mechanisms underlying reported variance in life satisfaction. Given the gratitude-oriented lifestyle and daily rituals of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, gratitude may serve as a central vehicle to its members’ high reported levels of life satisfaction. Thus, Study 1 explored the mediating role of gratitude through a cross-cultural comparison between ultra-Orthodox and secular samples. Study 2 explored the moderating effect of optimism on the relationship between the sociocultural group and gratitude, which, in turn, affects life satisfaction. Based on two matched samples of ultra-Orthodox and secular individuals, the findings indicate that the relationship between cultural group and life satisfaction was fully mediated by gratitude. Moreover, optimism was found to moderate the relationship between cultural group and gratitude so that the difference in gratitude levels between the two cultural groups was higher for individuals with low levels of optimism. The findings hold significant conceptual and practical implications for a better understanding of life satisfaction and its contributors.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 9404-9415 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Current Psychology |
Volume | 42 |
Issue number | 11 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
Keywords
- Cultural background
- Gratitude
- Life satisfaction
- Optimism
- Religious affiliation
- Ultra-orthodox
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Psychology