Feeling Gratitude Is Associated With Better Well-being Across the Life Span: A Daily Diary Study During the COVID-19 Outbreak

Abstract

Objectives Numerous studies have shown that gratitude can improve mental health of people facing stressful events. However, most studies in this area have been based on laboratory experiments and retrospective surveys, rather than actual situations in which people are experiencing stress. Moreover, few studies have examined whether age moderates the benefits of gratitude. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused enormous psychological distress worldwide. Evidence-based strategies are needed to enhance well-being during this stressful time. This study attempted to fill these gaps by examining the benefits of feeling gratitude every day during the COVID-19 outbreak. Method A sample of 231 participants from mainland China aged 18 to 85 years participated in a 14-day daily diary study. After a pretest to collect demographic data, information on gratitude, daily positive and negative affect, perceived stress related to COVID-19, and subjective health were measured using daily questionnaires on 14 consecutive days. One month after the daily diary period, information on affective experiences, life satisfaction, and subjective health was collected as a follow-up survey. Results On days when individuals feel more gratitude than usual, they report more positive affect, a lower level of perceived stress related to COVID-19, and better subjective health on the concurrent day (Day N). Individuals also report a lower level of stress related to COVID-19 on the following day (Day N+1), when they feel more gratitude than usual on Day N. Higher levels of gratitude across the 14-day study period was associated with a higher level of positive affect and a lower level of negative affect, but was not associated with life satisfaction or subjective health at the one-month follow-up assessment. Discussion These findings demonstrate the benefits of gratitude in a naturalistic situation that induced stress and anxiety.

Individual Differences Facing the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Age, Gender, Personality, and Positive Psychology

“…Specifically, the results reveal that all four subscales of gratitude were positively associated with positive affect and inversely associated with negative affect, indicating that people who are more grateful, both to other people and to transcendental forces, experience a better affective experience. This result is consistent with previous studies in which gratitude was related to various dimensions of well-being, conducted throughout the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., Burke et al, 2020;Jiang, 2020), in other historical times of adversity (e.g., Coffman, 1996;Peterson and Seligman, 2003), and also in normative historical times (e.g., Mairean et al, 2019). However, the four subscales of gratitude were not related to FC.…”

Family Caregivers’ Experiences and Changes in Caregiving Tasks During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Therefore, family caregivers should use personal strategies to overcome the disruption to their routine and adopt new caregiving approaches. For example, the health benefits of gratitude are well-known ( Jans-Beken et al, 2020 ) and have been recently established in the context of COVID-19 ( Jiang, 2020 ). Individuals feeling more gratitude than average had a lower perception of stress related to COVID-19, a higher level of positive affect, and a lower level of negative affect ( Jiang, 2020 ).…”

“…For example, the health benefits of gratitude are well-known ( Jans-Beken et al, 2020 ) and have been recently established in the context of COVID-19 ( Jiang, 2020 ). Individuals feeling more gratitude than average had a lower perception of stress related to COVID-19, a higher level of positive affect, and a lower level of negative affect ( Jiang, 2020 ). Additional research is needed to examine if a similar association exists for family caregivers.…”

#Grateful: Longitudinal Associations Between Adolescents’ Social Media Use and Gratitude During the COVID‐19 Pandemic

“…Although prior work has focused almost exclusively on the risks of social media use, in this study we sought to identify associations between social media use and gratitude—a positive emotional experience—particularly in a context when in‐person social interaction is not possible. During the pandemic, gratitude may motivate social interaction (Jiang, 2020 ; Syropoulos & Markowitz, 2021 ), even when only online social contact is permitted. Additionally, social interaction—particularly when social deprivation is high—may spur feelings of gratitude.…”