Gratitude enhances the beneficial effects of social support on psychological well-being

Deichert, Nathan T.; Fekete, Erin M.; Craven, Michael

doi:10.1080/17439760.2019.1689425

Cited by 32 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…Gratitude and optimism can enhance connectedness to oneself, others and the natural environment (Brissette et al, 2002 ; Bono and Sender, 2018 ). For example, research has highlighted that gratitude directly fosters perceived social support (Wood et al, 2008a ) and may even enhance the positive impact of social support on psychological wellbeing (Deichert et al, 2019 ). Social support may also be a key route through which the health benefits of optimism may arise (Scheier and Carver, 1987 ; Brissette et al, 2002 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protectors of Wellbeing During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Key Roles for Gratitude and Tragic Optimism in a UK-Based Cohort

et al. 2021

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The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a global threat to physical and mental health worldwide. Research has highlighted adverse impacts of COVID-19 on wellbeing but has yet to offer insights as to how wellbeing may be protected. Inspired by developments in wellbeing science and guided by our own theoretical framework (the GENIAL model), we examined the role of various potentially protective factors in a sample of 138 participants from the United Kingdom. Protective factors included physical activity (i.e., a health behaviour that helps to build psychological wellbeing), tragic optimism (optimism in the face of tragedy), gratitude (a prosocial emotion), social support (the perception or experience of being loved, cared for, and valued by others), and nature connectedness (physical and psychological connection to nature). Initial analysis involved the application of one-sample t-tests, which confirmed that wellbeing (measured by the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being scale) in the current sample (N = 138; M = 46.08, SD = 9.22) was significantly lower compared to previous samples (d = −0.36 and d = −0.41). Protective factors were observed to account for up to 50% of variance in wellbeing in a hierarchical linear regression that controlled for a range of sociostructural factors including age, gender, and subjective social status, which impact on wellbeing but lie beyond individual control. Gratitude and tragic optimism emerged as significant contributors to the model. Our results identify key psychological attributes that may be harnessed through various positive psychology strategies to mitigate the adverse impacts of hardship and suffering, consistent with an existential positive psychology of suffering.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protectors of Wellbeing During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Key Roles for Gratitude and Tragic Optimism in a UK-Based Cohort

et al. 2021

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“…Indicators of mental distress that gratitude interventions effect include reduced anxiety (Heckendorf et al, 2019), death anxiety (Lau & Cheng, 2011, 2012), depression (Gander et al, 2013; Heckendorf et al, 2019; O'Leary & Dockray, 2015), depressive symptoms (Booker & Dunsmore, 2017; Cheng et al, 2015; Chow & Berenbaum, 2016; Harbaugh & Vasey, 2014; Lambert et al, 2012; Senf & Liau, 2013), emotional exhaustion (Chan, 2011), perceived stress (Cheng et al, 2015; Deichert, Fekete, & Craven, 2019; Killen & Macaskill, 2015; O'Leary & Dockray, 2015), body dissatisfaction (Geraghty et al, 2010; Homan et al, 2014), weight bias internalization (Dunaev et al, 2018), psychological distress (Wong et al, 2017), and sleep disturbances such as presleep arousal and presleep worry (Digdon & Koble, 2011). Although gratitude interventions were originally intended for clinical populations (Jackowska et al, 2016; Wood et al, 2010), the robust findings regarding the positive impact of gratitude interventions on cognitive/mental well‐being in nonclinical populations suggests the promise of such interventions for employees in organizational settings.…”

Section: Review Of the Literature Through The Process Model Of Episod...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Trait gratitude is associated with physical well‐being including health symptoms, health behaviors and intentions, and sleep‐related outcomes. Health symptoms related to trait gratitude include perceived body wellness (Green et al, 2019), subjective health (e.g., Hill et al, 2013) and health symptoms (Deichert, Fekete, & Craven, 2019). Trait gratitude is associated with various health behaviors and intentions such as healthy activities (Hill et al, 2013), reduced substance use (Wood et al, 2007), reduced substance misuse (Kaniuka et al, 2020), and an increased willingness to seek medical help (Hill et al, 2013).…”

Section: Review Of the Literature Through The Process Model Of Episod...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Appreciating social science research on gratitude: An integrative review for organizational scholarship on gratitude in the workplace

2022

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Though gratitude research in organizational behavior (OB) is nascent, this emotion has a rich history in the social sciences. Research has shown gratitude to promote prosocial behaviors, encourage personal well-being, and foster interpersonal relationships. However, gratitude research has been siloed among these three outcomes of gratitude (moral, wellness, and relational). Similarly, past reviews of gratitude have focused on only one group of outcomes, one of its forms (trait, state, or expressed), or empirical findings without emphasis on the theoretical underpinnings. In contrast, this review recognizes that each type of gratitude, its functions, and outcomes are part of a single process model of gratitude. As such, in the current review, we provide a comprehensive assessment of gratitude in the social sciences by distilling and organizing the literature per our process model of episodic gratitude. Then, we translate the insights for management scholars, highlighting possible differences and synergies between extant research and workplace gratitude thereby helping advance "gratitude science" in the workplace. In all, this review (a) examines definitions and operationalizations of gratitude and provides recommendations for organizational research; (b) proposes a process model of episodic workplace gratitude as a conceptual map to guide future OB research on gratitude; (c) reviews empirical gratitude research through the lens of our process model; and (d) discusses the current state of the literature, important differences for workplace gratitude, and future directions for organizational scholars.

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“…These resources function as reserves to be drawn in times of need, which is beneficial during the difficult periods of people lives ( Emmons and McCullough, 2003 ). On one hand, the building of social resources can improve the interaction mode between the individual and the external environment, help individuals to establish a more supportive social system, and make individuals feel and accept the support of others ( Deichert et al, 2019 ). On the other hand, the building of psychological resources can help individuals to face the future with a more positive attitude and have more hope for the future ( Loo et al, 2014 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Support and Hope Mediate the Relationship Between Gratitude and Depression Among Front-Line Medical Staff During the Pandemic of COVID-19

Feng

Yin²

2021

Front. Psychol.

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BackgroundThe pandemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has burdened an unprecedented psychological stress on the front-line medical staff, who are at high risk of depression. While existing studies and theories suggest that factors such as gratitude, social support, and hope play a role in the risk of depression, few studies have combined these factors to explore the relationship between them.ObjectiveThis study examined the mediating roles of social support and hope in the relationship between gratitude and depression among front-line medical staff during the pandemic of COVID-19.MethodsThis study used the Gratitude Questionnaire, the Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS), the State Hope Scale (SHS), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale to examine the gratitude, social support, hope, and depression among 344 front-line medical workers in Wuhan, which was the hardest-hit area of COVID-19 in China.ResultsThe results showed that the prevalence of mild depressive disorder was 40.12% and the prevalence of major depressive disorder was 9.59% among front-line medical staff during the pandemic of COVID-19; gratitude has a direct and negative effect on depression. Gratitude was negative predictors of depression through the mediating variables of social support and hope [βgratitude–social support–depression = −0.096, 95%CI(−0.129 to −0.064); βgratitude–hope–depression = −0.034, 95%CI(−0.055 to −0.013)], as well as via an indirect path from social support to hope [βgratitude–social support–hope–depression = −0.089, 95%CI (−0.108 to −0.070)].ConclusionThe study findings indicate that gratitude as a positive emotion can reduce depression in medical staff by promoting social support and hope, respectively. Gratitude also reduced depression in health care workers through a chain mediating effect of social support and hope. Overall, gratitude can directly foster social support and hope, and protect people from stress and depression, which has implications for clinical interventions among front-line medical staff during the pandemic of COVID-19.

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Gratitude enhances the beneficial effects of social support on psychological well-being

Cited by 32 publications

References 73 publications

Protectors of Wellbeing During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Key Roles for Gratitude and Tragic Optimism in a UK-Based Cohort

Protectors of Wellbeing During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Key Roles for Gratitude and Tragic Optimism in a UK-Based Cohort

Appreciating social science research on gratitude: An integrative review for organizational scholarship on gratitude in the workplace

Social Support and Hope Mediate the Relationship Between Gratitude and Depression Among Front-Line Medical Staff During the Pandemic of COVID-19

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