Gratitude and well-being : the mediating role of coping

Abstract

Gratitude is a ubiquitous emotional experience. A simple “thank you” could just be a casual gesture of politeness; yet, religions, philosophers, and psychologists have long proposed that heart-felt experiences of gratefulness is the key to well-being. This dissertation examined the mediating mechanisms of the effects of gratitude on subjective well-being. I proposed a resources-coping model, which postulates that gratitude fosters subjective well-being through first enhancing perceptions of coping resources, which in turn facilitating the adoption of adaptive coping strategies. I tested this model in three studies. Study 1 found that, compared to the control condition, participants experienced more favorable perceptions of social and personal coping resources, higher efficacy to positive reframe stressful events, and greater subjective well-being upon recalling grateful events. The effect of condition on subjective well-being was mediated by enhanced feelings of coping resources and positive reframing efficacy. Building on this finding, Studies 2 and 3 applied the structural equation modeling approach to examine the inter-relationships among gratitude, social and personal coping resources, adaptive coping strategies, and subjective well-being among individuals facing specific stressors. Study 2 revealed that gratitude was associated with the receipt and satisfaction with social support, as well as adaptive coping strategies, including positive reframing, humor, acceptance, religious coping, and social support seeking, among a group of familial dementia caregivers. Study 3, which was conducted among a group of adults who had recently experienced a work-related stressor, largely replicated the findings of Study 2 and found that gratitude was associated with both favorable perceptions of coping resources as well as enhanced deployment of adaptive coping strategies. The results of the structural equation models demonstrate that coping resources mediated the effect of gratitude on life and work satisfaction, perceived life and work stress, and depressive symptoms. Findings of these three studies generally support the resources-coping model. Implications on future studies on gratitude and the coping process, as well as the application of gratitude-related findings to psychotherapy are discussed.