Reciprocal Relationships between State Gratitude and High- and Low Arousal Positive Affects in Daily Life: A Time-lagged Ecological Assessment Study

This study assessed whether state gratitude and high and low-arousal positive affect show reciprocal relationships in daily life, and whether these relationships are dependent of inter-individual differences in positive mental health or psychopathology. 106 participants reported on momentary gratitude and positive affects throughout 7 consecutive days, using the Experience Sampling Method. Multilevel time-lagged regression analyses showed that state gratitude, cheerfulness and satisfaction reciprocally predict one another from one moment to the next. The strength of the prospective relationships between state gratitude(t-1) and both cheerfulness(t) and satisfaction(t) did not vary as a function of inter-individual differences in positive mental health or psychopathology. However, the prospective effects of both cheerfulness(t-1) and satisfaction(t-1) on state gratitude(t) were significantly stronger for individuals with low vs. high levels of psychopathology. In addition, the prospective effect of cheerfulness(t-1) on state gratitude(t) was significantly stronger for those with high vs. low positive mental health.