Psychosocial Benefits of Gratitude Journals

NCT02570685 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: GratitudeJournal2015
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 192
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This randomized controlled study will examine the effects of different interpersonal gratitude journals compared to a neutral control journal on psycho social outcomes.

Conditions

Happiness

Keywords

Gratitude Intervention; positive emotion; friendships; positive psychology; life satisfaction

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Changes in Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). Diener, E. D., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985).

  Used to assess changes in life satisfaction levels over the course of the intervention and follow-ups.

  Baseline, immediate post-intervention at three weeks,1 month, 3 months

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• National Institute of Health Social Relationships Companionship Scale which assess Friendship Quality and Loneliness. Cyranowski, J. M., Zill, N., Bode, R., Butt, Z., Kelly, M. A., Pilkonis, P. A., & Cella, D. (2013).

  Baseline, immediate post-intervention at three weeks,1 month, 3 months

• The Gratitude Questionnaire-Six Item Form (GQ-6) McCullough, M. E., Emmons, R. A., & Tsang, J. (2002).

  Baseline, immediate post-intervention at three weeks,1 month, 3 months

Other Outcomes (5)

• The Expression of Gratitude in Relationships Scale. Lambert, N. M., Clarke, M. S., Durtschi, J. A., Fincham, F. D., & Graham, S. M. (2010).

  Baseline, immediate post-intervention at three weeks,1 month, 3 months

• The Four- item Relationship Satisfaction Scale. Funk, J. L., & Rogge, R. D. (2007).

  Baseline, immediate post-intervention at three weeks,1 month, 3 months

• Depressive symptoms: CES-D 10 (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale 10 item scale) Short Form. Andresen, E. M., Malmgren, J. A., Carter, W. B., & Patrick, D. L. (1994).

  Baseline, immediate post-intervention at three weeks,,1 month, 3 months

Study Arms (3)

Reflective Interpersonal Gratitude

EXPERIMENTAL

An interpersonal gratitude journal, designed to foster gratitude for one's existing social relationships, by writing and reflecting on people and positive daily encounters for which one is grateful.

Behavioral: Reflective Interpersonal Gratitude

Reflective-Behavioral Gratitude

EXPERIMENTAL

An interpersonal gratitude journal, designed to foster gratitude for one's existing social relationships, by writing and reflecting on people and positive daily encounters for which one is grateful. In addition participants are asked to choose a friend express this gratitude to them at the end of each week.

Behavioral: Reflective-Behavioral Gratitude

Neutral Control Journal

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Write about and reflect on things that occurred over the course of the day.

Behavioral: Neutral Control Journal

Interventions

Reflective Interpersonal Gratitude BEHAVIORAL

Participants were given the following instructions in their journal: Writing is a great way to reflect on your daily events, helping to look back and focus on the good things in our lives. There are many things in our lives, big and small, which we might be grateful for. For the next three weeks, 3 times a week (9 days in total), reflect back on your day and think of the people you met and interacted with and are grateful for. Please write down in the space provided a number of positive social interactions over the day or friendships/relationships you are grateful for…..

Reflective Interpersonal Gratitude

Reflective-Behavioral Gratitude BEHAVIORAL

Participants were given the following identical instructions as the reflective journal in addition to this "At the end of each week, express this gratitude to a friend of your choice face-to-face or through e-mail, facebook, a kind note, tell him/her how much you appreciate something specific that he/she does and reflect on how your friend's reaction and how you feel."

Reflective-Behavioral Gratitude

Neutral Control Journal BEHAVIORAL

Writing is a great way to reflect on your daily events, helping to look back and reflect on our lives. For the next three weeks, 3 times a week (9 days in total), please write in the spaces provided things that happened during the day.

Neutral Control Journal

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• English language proficiency

You may not qualify if:

• under the age of 18

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Limerick: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Limerick

Limerick, Munster, ROI, Ireland

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Personal Satisfaction

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Study Officials

• Brenda O' Connell, B.A

  University of Limerick

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Stephen Gallagher, PhD

  University of Limerick

  STUDY DIRECTOR

• Deirdre O'Shea, PhD

  University of Limerick

  STUDY DIRECTOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: TRIPLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Ms. Brenda O' Connell, B.A.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 6, 2015
• First Posted: October 7, 2015
• Study Start: October 1, 2015
• Primary Completion: March 1, 2016
• Study Completion: March 1, 2016
• Last Updated: March 2, 2016

Record last verified: 2016-03

Locations

IE (1)