SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY | RESEARCH ARTICLE An exploration of the relationships between gratitude, life satisfaction, and importance of helping others among a representative sample of the adult population of Mexico

1 Abstract: We used a representative sample of the adult population of Mexico to examine the influence of gratitude on life satisfaction and importance given to help- ing others. Questionnaires were administered by a trained interviewer in a face- to-face format outside the participants' home. Path analysis, treating the variables as observed, was used to test our hypotheses. Results showed that gratitude had a positive relationship with life satisfaction while controlling for financial satisfaction. Similarly, gratitude was positively related to importance given to helping others. For the most part, the positive influence of gratitude on life satisfaction and importance given to helping other remained significant at different income levels. The implica- tions of the results were discussed.