An Gratitude Programme Based on Islamic Teaching for the Well-Being of Emerging Adults (SHUKR)

August 26, 2026 updated by: Bela Akhtar Hasan Khan, Lincoln University College

Development and Validation of an Islamic Integrated Gratitude Intervention for Enhancing Well-Being Among Pakistani Muslim Adults

Gratitude practices have been shown to improve well-being but nearly all the programs tested so far were designed without reference to Islamic understanding.

This study tests a month-long gratitude program built around the Islamic concept of shukr. Participants complete a short daily journal entry, watch a short video before each day, and attend 5 online group sessions across 4 weeks.

The content covers what Shukr (Islamic gratitude) means, how it is expressed towards Allah and towards other people, and how it works during difficult times.

Participants are Muslim emerging adults aged 18 to 29 from Pakistan. They are randomly assigned either to the experimental or control group. Well-being and gratitude are measured before the program, at the end of the program, and at a follow-up after three months.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The intervention was developed following the Medical Research Council framework for developing and evaluating complex interventions (Skywington et al, 2021). Development drew on a systematic literature review and 2 qualitative studies and interviews. First, with Islamic scholars, which produced a model of shukr covering its theocentric foundation, its expression through heart, tongue, and limbs, its unconditional character, the virtue surrounding it, the humility it produces, and its social outworking. Second, the interviews with practitioners experienced in delivering psychological interventions, which produced design and safeguarding requirements.

Existing gratitude interventions show modest effects, and three limitations recur: gratitude directed at other people can produce a sense of indebtedness rather than appreciation; gratitude exercises perform poorly for people who are currently distressed because the exercise depends on identifying benefits; and interventions transported without cultural adaptation lose effect, particularly when adaptation stays at the surface rather than the emerging population's own framework for making sense of events.

The intervention addresses each of these: gratitude is directed towards Allah, who requires no repayment in kind; shukr is paired with Sabr (patience), which makes gratitude practicable during hardship rather than only after benefit. The daily practice is attached to an existing routine to support habit formation, and content is drawn from Quranic text and prophetic narration rather than from a single scholarly tradition.

The intervention structure: 26 journal entries across 4 weeks, which are accompanied by prerecorded videos (presenting the same teaching and prompt as the workbook) and five facilitated group live sessions delivered online.The first session proceeds before day 1 of journal entries; the remaining sessions fall roughly at the end of each week. Week 3 addresses gratitude during hardship and includes content on adversity, unanswered prayers, and difficult relationships. Participants are informed which days are there before a week begins and may skip any day without explanation.

Safeguards include explicit exclusion of abusive relationships from the content on difficult people, wording that does not require disclosure of private matters, an anonymous well-being check administered roughly mid-intervention, and a defined support and escalation procedures.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
160

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Muslim adults aged 18-29 years (emerging adulthood)
  • Sufficient English literacy to read the workbook independently
  • Reliable internet access for online group sessions
  • Able to provide informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Currently receiving treatment for a severe mental health condition
  • Currently in acute crisis or experiencing active suicidal ideation
  • Currently on psychiatric medication
  • Bereavement within the past 6 months

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Shukr Intervention
Participants receive the Islamic integrated gratitude programme delivered over four weeks. This includes a daily journal entry guided by a workbook, alongside pre-recorded videos (before each journal day, presenting the same teaching and prompt as the journal entry), and five facilitated live online group sessions.
Behavioral: Islamic Integrated gratitude intervention
An Islamically integrated gratitude intervention delivered over four weeks, comprising daily journal prompts, pre-recorded videos, and five facilitated live online group sessions.
Other Names:
  • Shukr
No Intervention: Waitlist Control
Participants complete the same outcome measures at the same time points but receive no intervention during the study period. They are offered the full SHUKR programme after the final follow-up assessment is complete.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Psychological Well-Being Assessed Using Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scale (18-Item Version)
Time Frame: Baseline (before intervention) and immediately after the 30-day intervention and at a 3-month follow-up
Psychological well-being is assessed using the 18-item version of Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scale. Items are rated on a 7-point scale from 1 (strongly agree) to 7 (strongly disagree). Items 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 17, and 18 are reverse-scored. The total score ranges from 18 to 126, with higher scores indicating greater psychological well-being. The scale assesses autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations, purpose in life, and self-acceptance.
Baseline (before intervention) and immediately after the 30-day intervention and at a 3-month follow-up

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Gratitude Questionnaire (Six Item Form)
Time Frame: Baseline (before intervention) and immediately after the 30-day intervention and at a 3-month follow-up
Gratitude is assessed using the six-item Gratitude Questionnaire-Six Item Form (GQ-6). Items are rated on a 7-point scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Items 3 and 6 are reverse-scored. The total score ranges from 6 to 42, with higher scores indicating greater gratitude.
Baseline (before intervention) and immediately after the 30-day intervention and at a 3-month follow-up

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Lincoln University College

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
October 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
February 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
August 20, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 20, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
August 24, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 27, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 26, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • LUC-IIGI-2026

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared because participant consent did not include sharing data with other researchers.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings