An Gratitude Programme Based on Islamic Teaching for the Well-Being of Emerging Adults (SHUKR)
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
Conditions
Intervention / Treatment
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
Enrollment (Estimated)
Phase
- Not Applicable
Participation Criteria
Eligibility Criteria
Ages Eligible for Study
- Adult
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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
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 |
Intervention / Treatment |
|---|---|
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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.
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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:
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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.
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What is the study measuring?
Primary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
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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
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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.
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Baseline (before intervention) and immediately after the 30-day intervention and at a 3-month follow-up
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Secondary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
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Gratitude Questionnaire (Six Item Form)
Time Frame: Baseline (before intervention) and immediately after the 30-day intervention and at a 3-month follow-up
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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.
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Baseline (before intervention) and immediately after the 30-day intervention and at a 3-month follow-up
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Collaborators and Investigators
Sponsor
Study record dates
Study Major Dates
Study Start (Estimated)
Primary Completion (Estimated)
Study Completion (Estimated)
Study Registration Dates
First Submitted
First Submitted That Met QC Criteria
First Posted (Actual)
Study Record Updates
Last Update Posted (Actual)
Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria
Last Verified
More Information
Terms related to this study
Additional Relevant MeSH Terms
Other Study ID Numbers
- LUC-IIGI-2026
Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)
Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?
IPD Plan Description
Drug and device information, study documents
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product
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