Grateful and Sanctified: Exploring the Parent–Child Context

This study tested links between gratitude and sanctification of the current parent–child relationship for 452 college students and 194 of their parents. Intrapersonal religiousness and spirituality have clear links to gratitude, but there is a dearth of studies that explore sanctification of the family context in relation to gratitude. The cognitive process of sanctifying a family relationship that hinges on perceiving the parent–child relationship as having significant spiritual qualities may have important implications for gratitude. Thus, sanctifying a family relationship may be a contributor to gratitude. To test this assumption, an incremental validity model was employed. Hierarchical regression analyses predicting college students’ and parents’ gratitude were conducted, but only parents’ reports of parent–child relationship sanctification through manifestation of God was significant after controlling for gender, parents’ general religiousness/spirituality, and parent–child relationship quality. A discussion ensues focused on relational spirituality and gratitude in a family context.