Parent-Directed Gratitude: An Investigation of a Novel Intervention and Possible Mechanisms Between Gratitude and Well-Being

First-year college students are vulnerable to developing psychopathology during the transition to college. Gratitude interventions have been effective at decreasing depressive symptoms and increasing well-being. There are mixed findings on whether gratitude directed toward a specific person is more effective than a general expression of gratitude. The present investigation has two research aims from a data collection involving a three-group randomized gratitude intervention study and a short-term longitudinal mediation model. The first research aim evaluated group comparisons related to well-being, positive affect, satisfaction with life, depressive symptoms, and quality of the parent-child relationship. The second research aim investigated the mechanisms between gratitude and well-being. Three possible mechanisms were investigated: social support, coping style, and positive affect. A total of 267 first-year college students completed online measures pre-intervention, participated in a 2-week intervention, and then completed measures at three time points post-intervention. In the first research aim, there were no significant group differences on any of the dependent variables. Regarding the mediation analyses, only positive affect significantly mediated the relation between gratitude and well-being. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed. PARENT-DIRECTED GRATITUDE 3 The transition to college is difficult, with approximately one third of college students meeting diagnostic criteria for a psychiatric disorder (American College Health Association, 2008). Students may not seek treatment due to financial and time constraints (Hunt & Eisenberg, 2010). A brief, inexpensive, accessible alternative is essential to buffer against the development of psychopathology. Gratitude interventions have consistently increased well-being and decrease depressive symptoms in college students (Dickens, 2017). However, the mechanisms between gratitude and well-being have yet to be examined with longitudinal data. This investigation seeks to address the aforementioned problems of (1) evaluating gratitude interventions in a college sample, and (2) identifying the process by which gratitude impacts well-being. College students are at high risk to develop mental health problems. According to the stress diathesis model, individuals’ genetic predisposition toward developing mental health problems is activated in particularly stressful environments. There are multiple stressors college students experience, especially in their first semester. Most students are living away from home for the first time and learning to function in a demanding academic and social environment (Hunt & Eisenberg, 2010). Additionally, the age of onset for many psychiatric diagnoses is in the traditional college students’ age range (Kessler et al., 2005). Despite college being a common time for the onset of psychopathology, a majority of college students have not sought mental health treatment. The American College Health Association (ACHA) report indicated that only 24% of college students with diagnoses of depression are in treatment (ACHA, 2008). Common barriers for students seeking treatment included financial and privacy concerns (Givens & Tija, 2002; Tija, Givens, & Shea, 2005). Although most college campuses have counseling services, there is a growing demand for their PARENT-DIRECTED GRATITUDE 4 resources (Xiao et al., 2017). For example, college counseling centers may have session limits or a waitlist (Meilman, 2016). If students decide to pursue treatment elsewhere, there is a significant financial burden. Furthermore, students may be concerned that classmates or friends may see them in the counseling center on campus. Erikson (1963) recognized the importance of peer relationships for young adults. During the initial transition to college, close high school friends aided in the adjustment to college. Whereas later in the semester, it was more beneficial to develop peer relationships with fellow college students (Swenson, Nordstrom, & Hiester, 2008). In fact, relationships with college peers were associated with more academic success and continuation to the second year of college (Goguen, Hiester, & Nordstrom, 2011). Just as peer relationships were beneficial, family connectedness served as a protective factor against the development of depressive symptoms and low self-esteem (Hall-Lande, Eisenberg, Christenson, & Neumark-Sztainer, 2007). Students’ relationships with their parents were found to buffer against the development of depressive symptoms. One study of first-year college students tracked daily reports of positive and negative emotionality as well as quality of communication between parent and child. They found that students’ relationship with their parents was positively associated with well-being and negatively associated with depressive symptoms (Burke, Ruppel, & Dinsmore, 2016). These results emphasized the importance of the parent-child relationship during the transition to college. Additionally, several positive psychology constructs are examples of protective factors. Positive psychology research and interventions have been increasingly popular since the resurgence of the positive psychology movement in 2000 (Bolier et al., 2013; Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). Gratitude, in particular, is prominent both in scientific literature and PARENT-DIRECTED GRATITUDE 5 popular culture, as evidenced by recent feature articles in the Wall Street Journal and Huffington Post (Kapp, 2013; Reiser, 2014). However, writings on gratitude have existed for centuries, with Marcus Cicero’s Pro Plancio in 54 BC and Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae in 1485 (Emmons & Shelton, 2002). More recently, gratitude has been used with college students to increase their sense of well-being and buffer against the development of psychopathology (Dickens, 2017).