A critical examination of the effectiveness of gratitude intervention on well-Being Outcomes: A within-person experimental daily diary approach

Given the rise in the global prevalence of stress and depressive symptoms, there is an increasing need to identify promising interventions that promote well-being. One potential intervention that has been widely discussed in the literature on improving well-being is the practice of gratitude. However, findings on its effectiveness have been marred by inconsistency and publication bias. Building upon past studies, the current study aims to revisit the effect of a gratitude contemplation intervention on multiple well-being outcomes by using a within-person experimental design with a daily diary approach. Multilevel modeling showed that the gratitude contemplation intervention had a significant within-person effect on multiple daily well-being outcomes including negative affect, perceived stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Moreover, the results were robust across varying levels of personality traits. Our study provides another line of evidence to the literature supporting the benefits of gratitude contemplation intervention.