Department of Special Education and Counselling, Integrated Centre for Wellbeing, Centre for Psychosocial Health, Education University of Hong Kong, China.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2022 Apr 1;77(4):e36-e45. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbaa220.
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.
A sample of 231 participants from mainland China aged 18-85 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.
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 1-month follow-up assessment.
These findings demonstrate the benefits of gratitude in a naturalistic situation that induced stress and anxiety.
许多研究表明，感恩可以改善面临压力事件的人的心理健康。然而，该领域的大多数研究都是基于实验室实验和回顾性调查，而不是人们实际面临压力的情况。此外，很少有研究检验年龄是否会调节感恩的益处。2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）在全球范围内造成了巨大的心理困扰。在这个压力时期，需要采取基于证据的策略来增强幸福感。本研究试图通过在 COVID-19 爆发期间每天检查感恩的好处来填补这些空白。
来自中国大陆的 231 名年龄在 18-85 岁的参与者参加了为期 14 天的每日日记研究。在进行预测试以收集人口统计学数据、感恩信息、每日积极和消极情绪、与 COVID-19 相关的感知压力以及主观健康信息后，参与者在连续 14 天内使用每日问卷进行测量。在每日日记期结束一个月后，收集关于情感体验、生活满意度和主观健康的信息作为后续调查。
当个体感到比平时更感激时，他们会报告当天有更多的积极情绪，与 COVID-19 相关的感知压力水平较低，主观健康状况较好（N 天）。当个体在 N 天感到比平时更感激时，他们也会报告次日（N+1 天）与 COVID-19 相关的压力水平较低。在整个 14 天的研究期间，更高的感恩水平与更高的积极情绪水平和更低的消极情绪水平相关，但与 1 个月后的生活满意度或主观健康状况无关。
这些发现证明了感恩在诱发压力和焦虑的自然情境中的益处。
