University of Twente Student Theses
The association between gratitude and stress in a daily context : an experience sampling study
Wellinger, Felizia Leonie (2020) The association between gratitude and stress in a daily context : an experience sampling study.
|
PDF
528kB |
| Abstract: | Background. The relationship between gratitude and stress has been gaining increasing attention because individuals with higher levels of gratefulness were shown to be better able to cope with stressful situations compared to individuals with lower levels of gratefulness (Watkins, 2004). However, although this relationship seems apparently established, no study so far investigated this association in daily life. Objective. This study examined whether the relationship between state gratitude and state stress was a between- or within-person effect. Further, the association between state and trait gratitude was investigated, as well as between trait gratitude and trait stress. Method. An experience sampling study was conducted for seven consecutive days among 35 students (MAge = 21.2; 82.9% females) sampled based on convenience. In addition to the trait measures (Multi-Component Gratitude Measure (MCGM) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)) that were used to measure general levels of gratitude and stress, participants’ state gratitude and stress were assessed three times per day using single-item questions. Results. A multilevel linear analysis revealed a strong negative between-person association ( = -.59, SE = .09, p < .001), as well as a weaker negative within-person association ( = -.29, SE = .05, p < .001), indicating that an individual’s momentary stress level largely depends on that individual’s average gratitude level and to a lesser extent on that person’s gratitude level at that specific moment. Further, a linear mixed model analysis displayed that individuals with higher trait gratitude tend to experience higher levels of state gratitude in their daily lives ( = .44 SE = .05, p < .001), and a linear regression analysis showed that individuals with higher trait gratitude tend to experience lower trait stress ( = -.52, p < .001). Conclusion. This study provides unique insights into gratitude and stress as they naturally occur in real life, and thereby supplements and expands prior research, by highlighting that momentary levels of gratitude might operate similarly to general levels of gratitude. This supports the need for the development of individualised, timed interventions to provide individuals with suitable interventions to increase momentary gratitude when needed during daily life. |
| 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/81580 |
| Export this item as: | BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager |
Show download statistics for this publication
Show download statistics for this publicationRepository Staff Only: item control page