University of Twente Student Theses
The effects of acts of kindness on mental well-being and the mediating role of positive and negative emotions : a randomized controlled trial
Aksoy, M. (2018) The effects of acts of kindness on mental well-being and the mediating role of positive and negative emotions : a randomized controlled trial.
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| Abstract: | Kindness interventions including Acts of Kindness (AoK) have proven to be effective in improving mental well-being. However, among these studies, only a few focused on possible mediators explaining the association between AoK and mental well-being. Therefore, this study aimed to replicate the effects of AoK on well-being and, among a few studies, tested the mediating role of positive and negative emotions. A randomized controlled trial was conducted with a total of 653 participants. From this, 169 participants for the current study were randomly assigned to Acts of kindness (n = 85) or a wait-list control condition (n = 84). Assessments took place at baseline and 2, 4, 6 and 12 weeks after baseline. Outcome measures were well-being (MHC-SF) and positive and negative emotions (mDES). Results revealed that the AoK intervention compared to the wait-list control condition led to significantly greater increases in overall mental well-being and psychological well-being, but not in emotional and social well-being. In addition, no evidence was found for positive and negative emotions as mediators. The current study demonstrated that AoK has potential to improve mental well-being. Future research should consider testing other possible mechanisms which can explain this effect. By this, it could be possible to found more about underlying mechanisms and thereby to maximise the effectiveness of kindness interventions. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 77 psychology |
| Programme: | Psychology MSc (66604) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/76344 |
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