Effectiveness of gratitude disposition promotion program on depression and quality of life of chronic schizophrenic patients

Abstract

Context:Gratitude intervention is expectedly an effective intervention to reduce depression and improve the quality of life in schizophrenic patients, but there is a lack of literature on it.Aims:We attempted to develop and test the effectiveness of the gratitude disposition promotion program for chronic schizophrenic patients in Korea.Settings and Design:Nonequivalent control group pre- and post-test design was used in two mental health centers located at Gyeonggi-do in South Korea.Materials and Methods:This paper was a quasi-experimental study and the participants who took part in the gratitude disposition promotion program were 17 of experimental group and 15 of control group. Gratitude disposition (the short gratitude, resentment, and appreciation test), depression (Beck Depression Inventory), and quality of life (developed by Kook) of chronic schizophrenic patients were measured before and after an intervention, as compared to the control.Statistical Analysis:Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and t-test were performed for prehomogeneity testing for variables related to the general characteristics. Testing for the effectiveness of gratitude disposition promotion program and hypothesis testing for its effect on depression and quality of life were by ANCOVA and t-test, as verified to significance level of P < 0.05.Results:The participants who received the gratitude disposition promotion program showed significant improvements in gratitude disposition (F = 18.740, P < 0.0001) and in quality of life (F = 9.800, P = 0.004), but no significant difference in depression (F = 3.870, P = 0.059).Conclusions:The gratitude disposition promotion program was an effective clinical intervention program for enhancing gratitude disposition and quality of life of chronic schizophrenic patients in community.

Gratitude and patience moderate meaning struggles and suicidal risk in a cross‐sectional study of inpatients at a Christian psychiatric hospital

“…Similarly, the sample had a higher proportion of White participants and lower proportion of Black participants compared to the typical private psychiatric inpatient hospital in the United States, so findings may be limited to predominately White/Caucasian populations. However, there is some evidence that these findings might persist in less or differently religious settings and across diverse cultures and ethnicities given the persistent association between gratitude and suicide risk in samples outside the United States (Jung & Han, 2017;Lau & Cheng, 2017;Li et al, 2012;Lin, 2015;Ng & Wong, 2012;Rey et al, 2019;Varaee et al, 2019). Though far less numerous, international studies on patience also suggest the moderation by life hardships patience replicate across cultures (Hashemi et al, 2018;Valikhani et al, 2017).…”

“…1.3.1 | Gratitude may protect through positive emotion, hope, and social relationships Previous work suggests gratitude is a protective factor for mental illness symptoms in highly distressed samples. Specifically examining psychiatric populations, a gratitude promotion program decreased depressive symptoms in patients with schizophrenia in South Korea (Jung & Han, 2017). Beyond this, few studies have examined gratitude among psychiatric inpatients, but numerous cross-sectional studies demonstrate the protective effects of gratitude against depressive and anxiety symptoms for potentially distressed samples, such as breast cancer patients in the United States (Ruini & Vescovelli, 2013), familial caregivers of persons with dementia in China (Lau & Cheng, 2017), trauma exposed college students in the United States (Van Dusen et al, 2015), and chronic pain patients in Hong Kong (Ng & Wong, 2012).…”

Factors influencing well‐being in clinical nurses: A path analysis using a multi‐mediation model

“…Gratitude disposition was measured by the short version of the Gratitude Resentment and Appreciation Test (GRAT) (Thomas & Watkins, 2003;Watkins, Woodward, Stone, & Kolts, 2003). The Korean short version of GRAT has established reliability and validity (Jung & Han, 2017;Kim & Yi, 2009). The scale consists of 16 items scored on a 9-point Likert scale.…”

Gratitude and Religiosity in Psychiatric Inpatients with Depression

“…General and religious gratitude increased between admission and discharge, even though no direct interventions were undertaken to enhance gratitude. Several studies explored ways to increase gratitude in participants [6,7,9,18]. The most common approach was gratitude journaling intervention, whereby participants had to write down three to five things they were grateful for on a daily basis [5].…”

“…Yet only few studies on gratitude and depression have been conducted in clinical samples involving psychiatric patients. Previous studies have shown that patients with psychiatric disorders, such as depressions [6,7], schizophrenia [6], and suicidal tendencies [8], benefit from gratitude. In addition, gratitude modifies pathophysiological pathways, such as reducing inflammation in heart failure patients, lowering blood pressure, and improving immune function [9].…”