FUTURE ANXIETY UNDER COVID-19 CIRCUMSTANCES: TESTING THE EFFECT OF GRATITUDE AND MEDIATING ROLE OF THREAT PERCEPTION

Abstract

The Covid-19 outbreak increased the importance of dispositional qualities and easy-to-use self-help strategies to promote mental well-being. Previous research indicate that disposition to gratitude enhances well-being by protecting mental health. However, evidence for the efficacy of gratitude-inducing interventions in preventing psychological problems is mixed. Further, data on the gratitude-well-being link under Covid-19 circumstances are inconclusive. In the present reseach, we examined the role of trait gratitude and gratitude-listing intervention in alleviating future anxiety during the pandemic, and the mediating role of perceived realistic and symbolic threats from Covid-19. In the first study, a correlational study (N = 405), participants rated the predictor and outcome measures—the scales of gratitude, future anxiety, and perceived realistic and symbolic threats from Covid-19. In the second study, a pretest-posttest intervention study (N = 150), participants were randomized to list grateful experiences or important daily life events every two days for a month, or to complete only the pretest and posttest measures. Results indicated that disposition to gratitude was associated with lower future anxiety (study-1), whereas the gratitude-listing intervention did not reduce this anxiety (study-2). Furthermore, in both studies, the perceived Covid-19 threats did not mediate the relationship between gratitude and future anxiety. Exploratory qualitative analyses of participants’ gratitude lists and feedback in the second study showed that the pandemic situation hindered the benefits of the intervention. Overall, the results suggest that trait gratitude is more strongly associated with alleviation of psychological distress during the Covid-19 pandemic than gratitude listing. This supports the accumulating data that gratitude interventions, while beneficial for well-being, have limited effectiveness in reducing symptoms of ill-being, such as anxiety.