Sport-domain gratitude uniquely accounts for athletes’ well-being across two cultures: Incremental validity above the general gratitude

The current study conducted two independent studies to examine whether sport-domain gratitude would account for increased explained variance in athlete well-being indicators after controlling for the general gratitude. Study 1 recruited 167 U.S. athletes and found sport-domain gratitude significantly accounted for increased explained variance in athletes burnout and team satisfaction when general gratitude was controlled. To cross-validate and advance Study 1, Study 2 recruited 290 Taiwan adolescent athletes with time lagged design. Results were consistent with Study 1 which supported its generalizability across countries and age. The implications and applications are discussed in terms of contextualized interpretation of gratitude.