Gratitude; Empathy & CL Data.xlsx

Gratitude promotes relationship formation, maintenance, and satisfaction, therefore, it may be related to compassionate love. Though theoretical evidence supports the argument that gratitude and compassionate love are related to empathy, however, no studies have empirically investigated the relationship between gratitude and compassionate love with empathy impacting the relationship. Empathy increases with age in people. Therefore, the present study examined the moderated mediated effect of age and empathy on the relationship between gratitude and compassionate love. Three hundred and eighteen people from India between the age of 20 and 52 were recruited and completed an online, multi-section questionnaire that includes measures of gratitude, empathy, and compassionate love. Statistical analyses showed a significant moderated mediation effect, with age affecting the relationship between gratitude and compassionate love indirectly (via empathy). As people age, they experience higher gratitude which positively affects their empathy and which in turn increases compassionate love. The implication of these findings can be applied to research areas and clinical setup. This can play a significant role in gratitude and empathy interventions for clinicians’ mental health and well-being.