Nostalgia, Gratitude, or Optimism: The Impact of a Two-Week Intervention on Well-Being During COVID-19

Abstract

Research indicates that brief 2-min positive psychology interventions (PPIs) increase well-being during COVID-19 lockdowns. The present study extended this to assess the effectiveness over two-weeks. Participants (n = 150) were randomly allocated to one of three PPIs; nostalgia, gratitude, best possible self (BPS), or control. The interventions were slightly adapted for the lockdown and were completed three times, every seven days over two-weeks. Well-being measures were completed immediately after the first intervention (T1), after the next two interventions (T2−T3) and at one-week follow-up (T4) (but no baseline measure of well-being was taken). At T1, participants in the nostalgia, gratitude, and BPS intervention had higher self-esteem than those in the control intervention. At T1 and T2, participants in the gratitude and BPS intervention reported higher social connectedness than participants in the nostalgia and control intervention. Then at follow-up (T4), participants in the nostalgia, gratitude, and BPS intervention had lower fear of COVID-19 than those in the control intervention. Overall, the results show the benefits of nostalgia, gratitude and optimism, compared to the control, during lockdown.

Does Gratitude Promote Resilience During a Pandemic? An Examination of Mental Health and Positivity at the Onset of COVID-19

“…For example, gratitude has been significantly associated with less psychological distress and negative affect, in addition to greater subjective wellbeing, positive affect and emotion, positive self-changes, work satisfaction, and thriving during COVID-19 (e.g., Bono et al, 2020 ; Butler & Jaffe, 2020 ; Casali et al, 2021 ; Jiang, 2020 ; Jiang et al, 2022 ; Mead et al, 2021 ; Nelson-Coffey et al, 2021 ; Syropoulos & Markowitz, 2021 ; Watkins et al, 2021 ). Further, several studies demonstrate the benefits of engaging in gratitude-related interventions during the pandemic, including lower fear of COVID-19, negative affect, and stress, as well as higher self-esteem, positive emotions, mental wellbeing, and social connectedness (e.g., Datu et al, 2021 ; Dennis et al, 2020 , 2022 ; Fekete & Deichert, 2022 ; Geier & Morris, 2022 ). Respondents to self-report surveys also indicate that they expect to feel grateful in the future even in the midst of this crisis (Watkins et al, 2021 ), signaling the long-term impact of the positive emotions associated with gratitude.…”

No man is an island: Men living alone during COVID‐19 report lower need satisfaction and well‐being

“…The video platform Zoom, for instance, lifted time limits on video calls for their free version at the peak of the pandemic (Sozzi & Christoforous, 2020). The present results thus call for a stronger consideration of the need for self‐esteem when designing real‐life interventions in the future, especially given that self‐esteem has an even more direct relation to well‐being than belongingness (Dennis & Ogden, 2022). Task forces updating pandemic management plans to meet future challenges may benefit from these insights.…”

More grateful, less addicted! Understanding how gratitude affects online gaming addiction among Chinese college students: a three-wave multiple mediation model

“…Furthermore, this result further supports the broaden-and-build theory proposed by Fredrickson [ 22 ]. In detail, gratitude can help people alleviate negative emotions [ 59 ] and build personal lasting positive resources, such as self-esteem [ 60 ], enhance well-being [ 61 ] and life satisfaction [ 62 ]. These resources are critical to overcoming game addiction for young people.…”