Gratitude: the state of art

ABSTRACT

A growing number of studies show how gratitude can have a positive and significant impact on our physical and mental health. It is also known that implementing gratitude activities in daily life may play a role as a self-help tool to lower the level of psychological distress, enhance one’s satisfaction with life and strengthen social bonds. The purpose of this review is to take a closer look at existing definitions of gratitude, its measures, interventions and research as well as provide future directions in gratitude studies.

KEYWORDS:

• Gratitude
• gratitude interventions
• positive psychology
• well-being

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Joanna Skrzelinska

Joanna Skrzelinska is a PhD student in Educational Psychology within a joint PhD Program (Faculty of Psychology, University of Coimbra with Faculty of Psychology, University of Lisbon). Her PhD project and academic interests focus on the beneficence of practicing gratitude in life.

Joaquim Armando Ferreira

Joaquim Armando Ferreira is a Full Professor of Counseling and Development in the College of Psychology and Education at the University of Coimbra, Portugal. He is the Co-Director of the joint PhD Program in Educational Psychology (Faculty of Psychology, University of Coimbra with Faculty of Psychology, University of Lisbon). His interests focus on development of youth and adults and on life transitions with a developmental contextual approach.