“Dando gracias”: Gratitude, social connectedness, and subjective happiness among bilingual Latinx college students.

Abstract

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics (n.d.), 3.6 million Latinx students enrolled in college for the Fall 2019 semester. Latinx students are the second largest racial/ethnic group to enroll in higher education and yet this population has the lowest rates of degree attainment compared to other non-Latinx college students. To better understand Latinx students’ experiences within a positive psychology and culturally relevant lens, this study examined the relationship between gratitude, social connectedness, and subjective happiness among 261 bilingual Latinx college students in the United States. We utilized structural equation modeling analysis and found that gratitude was significantly and positively correlated with subjective happiness. Both subscales of the Social Connectedness in Mainstream Society and the Ethnic Community Scales have indirect effects between gratitude and subjective happiness. Results also showed that there is no significant difference between these two indirect effects. It may be important to provide psychoeducation to Latinx college students about the benefits of gratitude (e.g., how it is related to social connectedness and subjective happiness) while fostering connections between Latinx students/communities and mainstream culture to build networks. Strengths, limitations, and other practical implications are further discussed.