Development and Validation of Hindu Gratitude Scale (HGS-15): A Rnas Perspective

Researchers have proposed culture- and religion-based variations in experience and expression of gratitude. Accordingly, the present study developed and validated a Hindu Gratitude Scale (HGS) based on Hindu notion of rnas. The rnas are sacred obligations (duties) that every Hindu is supposed to fulfil during their lifetime. These pious obligations are practised to acknowledge, honour, and appreciate others' contribution in one's life. These five holy duties are Pitṛ-yajna, Bhūta-yajna, Manuṣya-yajna, Deva-yajna, and Brahma-yajna. The study started with rnas-based conceptualisation of gratitude followed by item generation using both inductive and deductive approaches. These statements were subjected to content validity and pretesting, which resulted in nineteen items. The psychometric properties of proposed HGS (with nineteen items) were analysed with the help of three studies. The first study evaluated factorial validity of the proposed HGS using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using a sample of 1032 respondents. Poor factor loading in EFA suggested removal of three statements. The EFA recommended five dimensions of the HGS-appreciation for family, ancestors, and cultural values (AFF), appreciation for family, ancestors, and cultural values (AFF), appreciation for God, appreciation for knowledge, skills, and talents, and appreciation for ecosystem. Further, CFA also suggested removal of one statement. Lastly, the EFA and CFA result suggested adequate factorial validity of a fifteen-itemed five-factored HGS. The second study examined the reliability and validity of the HGS derived from CFA with the help of a sample of 644 participants. And, in the third study, the test-retest reliability was investigated by collecting the data twice. The results revealed significant positive correlations in two sets of data, thereby concluding test-retest reliability of the HGS. The study offered a novel fifteen-item Hindu Gratitude Scale, which could be used in future studies to explore gratitude level of Hindus.