Correlation of Gratitude Subscales as a Predictor of Stress and Depression During Covid-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an adverse impact on mental health with reports of higher levels of stress and depressive symptoms (Gallagher et al. (2020). Dispositional gratitude was found to have a significant impact on stress and depressive symptoms relating to the pandemic as reported by college students (Wolfe et al., 2021). Dispositional gratitude is the predisposition to experience thankful appreciation as measured by the Gratitude Resentment and Appreciation Test (GRAT) (Watkins et al., 2003). The GRAT measures dispositional gratitude using three distinct subscales created by Watkins et al (2003): sense of abundance (Ab), simple appreciation (SA), and appreciation for others (AO). Previous research looking at dispositional gratitude found it to act as a stress-buffer and reduce depressive symptoms (Deichert et al., 2019; Vernon et al., 2009). Consequently, dispositional gratitude could be key to coping with the new challenges the pandemic has caused. Our sample consisted of college students who completed a Qualtrics survey, which included the GRAT, Perceived Stress Scale, CES-Depression, and other measures of pandemic-related experiences. We predict the GRAT Ab and SA scales will be most protective from stress and depression due to social isolation and less protective for AO