Sociodemographic Variation in Gratitude using Cross-National Analysis With 22 Countries

We used nationally representative data from the first wave of the Global Flourishing Study (N=202,898) to (1) explore the distribution of gratitude in 22 geographically and culturally diverse countries and (2) identify potential differences in mean gratitude across nine sociodemographic characteristics, including age, gender, marital status, employment status, years of education, immigrants’ status, frequency of religious service attendance, religious affiliation, and racial/ethnicity identity. Our descriptive analysis supported substantial variation in gratitude across countries. The highest mean gratitude was in Indonesia (M=8.93, SD=1.76), whereas the lowest was in Japan (M=5.81, SD=2.25). We estimated country-level descriptive statistics for gratitude in each sociodemographic category and then performed a series of random effects meta-analyses to aggregate results for the seven sociodemographic variables that were assessed consistently across countries. On average, the mean gratitude in 22 countries is highest in those older age, females, married, immigrants, retired, or 16+ years of education, and more than once a week of religious service attendance than other groups. Sociodemographic differences in gratitude varied by country. Our findings enhance understanding of gratitude distribution and disparities and provide preliminary evidence for which groups might be strategic targets for gratitude promotion or for whom to address potentially difficult underlying circumstances.