ISSN 2079-6617
eISSN 2309-9828
Dispositional Gratitude as a Mediator in the Influence of Life Goals on Psychological Well-Being

Dispositional Gratitude as a Mediator in the Influence of Life Goals on Psychological Well-Being

PDF (Rus)

Recieved: 02/20/2023

Accepted: 10/08/2023

Published: 12/10/2023

Keywords: life goals; intrinsic goals; extrinsic goals; aspiration index; self-determination theory; well-being; gratitude; high school students

p.: 123-136

DOI: 10.11621/npj.2023.0411

Available online: 08.12.2023

To cite this article:

Sychev, O.A., Gordeeva, Т.О., Titova Grandchamp Victoria A., Rudnova, N.A., Kornienko, D.S. . Dispositional Gratitude as a Mediator in the Influence of Life Goals on Psychological Well-Being. // National Psychological Journal 2023. 4. p.123-136. doi: 10.11621/npj.2023.0411

Copied to Clipboard

Copy
Issue 4, 2023

Sychev, O.A. Altai State Pedagogical University

Gordeeva, Т.О. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Federal Scientific Center of Psychological and Multidisciplinary Research

Titova Grandchamp Victoria A. Lomonosov Moscow State University

Rudnova, N.A. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Federal Scientific Center of Psychological and Multidisciplinary Research

Kornienko, D.S. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Federal Scientific Center of Psychological and Multidisciplinary Research

Abstract

Background. Solving practical problems to support the psychological well-being of youth determines the relevance of the research of its psychological factors.

Objective. The aim is to test the assumption that dispositional gratitude mediates the influence of internal and external life aspirations (goals) on well-being on a sample of Russian high school students.

Sample. 5,635 high school students (grades 10–11) from 422 schools in Yakutia aged 16 to 18 years (M = 16.81, SD = 0.68), 41% of them boys.

Methods. An empirical study was conducted with the use of psychological questionnaires: Gratitude Scale by M. McCullough, R. Emmons and J. Tsang, the non-verbal scale Attitude to Study and Life, the Myself scale from MSLSS by E.S. Huebner, and the short version of Aspirations Index by T. Kasser and R. Ryan. Correlations, regression analysis, and structural equation modeling were used for data analysis.

Results. It is shown that psychological well-being of high school students is directly related to gratitude, as well as intrinsic and extrinsic life aspirations. In turn, gratitude, associated with both intrinsic and extrinsic goals, mediates relations between well-being and life aspirations. The indirect effect of intrinsic goals on well-being is positive, while such effect of the extrinsic ones is negative.

Conclusion. The results of the study indicate the important role of gratitude as a mediator of the relations between life aspirations and psychological well-being in adolescence. The findings can be used to plan interventions to improve wellbeing of youth through the development of dispositional gratitude and increased focus on internal goals.

References

Andrews, F.M., Withey, S.B. (1976). Social indicators of well-being: Americans’ perceptions of life quality. New York: Plenum Press.

Bradshaw, E.L., et al. (2022). A meta-analysis of the dark side of the American dream: Evidence for the universal wellness costs of prioritizing extrinsic over intrinsic goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 124(4), 873-889. https://doi.org/10.1037/ pspp0000431

Cregg, D.R., Cheavens, J.S. (2021). Gratitude Interventions: Effective Self-help? A Meta-analysis of the Impact on Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety. Journal of Happiness Studies, 22(1), 413–445. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-020-00236-6

De Leersnyder, J., Koval, P., Kuppens, P., Mesquita, B. (2018). Emotions and concerns: Situational evidence for their systematic co-occurrence. Emotion, 18, 597–614. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000314

Deci, E.L., Ryan, R.M. (2000). The “What” and “Why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01

Diener, E., Suh, E.M., Lucas, R.E., & Smith, H.L. (1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125(2), 276–302. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.125.2.276

Emmons, R.A. (2005). Emotion and religion. In R.F. Paloutzian, C.L. Park (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of religion and spirituality (pp. 235–252). New York: The Gilford Press.

Fredrickson, B.L. (2004). Gratitude, like other positive emotions, broadens and builds. In R.A. Emmons, M.E. McCullough (Eds.), The Psychology of Gratitude (pp. 145–166.). New York: Oxford University Press.

Grouzet, F., et al. (2005). The structure of goal contents across 15 cultures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89(5), 800–816. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.89.5.800

Kasser, T., Ryan, R.M. (1993). A dark side of the American dream: Correlates of financial success as a central life aspiration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(2), 410–422. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.65.2.410

Kasser, T., Ryan, R.M. (1996). Further examining the american dream: Differential correlates of intrinsic and extrinsic goals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22(3), 280–287. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167296223006

Kasser, T., Ryan, R.M. (2001). Be careful what you wish for: Optimal functioning and the relative attainment of intrinsic and extrinsic goals. In P. Schmuck, K.M. Sheldon. (Eds.), (pp. 116–131.) Hogrefe & Huber Publishers.

Martela, F., Bradshaw, E.L., Ryan, R.M. (2019). Expanding the map of intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations using network analysis and multidimensional scaling: Examining four new aspirations. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2174. https://doi.org/10.3389/ fpsyg.2019.02174

Martínez-Martí, M.L., Ruch, W. (2014). Character strengths and well-being across the life span: data from a representative sample of German-speaking adults living in Switzerland. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 1253. https://doi.org/ 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01253

McCullough, M.E., Emmons, R.A., Tsang, J.-A. (2002). The grateful disposition: A conceptual and empirical topography. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(1), 112–127. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.82.1.112

Nartova-Bochaver, S.K., & Kislitsa, G.K. (2017). Experience of gratitude as a personal resource: On the problem definition. Psikhologicheskii Zhurnal (Psychological Journal), 38(6), 42–51. https://doi.org/10.7868/S0205959217060046 (In Russ.).

Olčar, D., Rijavec, M., & Ljubin Golub, T. (2019). Primary school teachers’ life satisfaction: The role of life goals, basic psychological needs and flow at work. Current Psychology, 38, 320–329. https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s12144-017-9611-y

Oriol, X., Unanue, J., Miranda, R., Amutio, A., Bazán, C. (2020). Self-Transcendent Aspirations and Life Satisfaction: The Moderated Mediation Role of Gratitude Considering Conditional Effects of Affective and Cognitive Empathy. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 2105. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02105

Portocarrero, F.F., Gonzalez, K., Ekema-Agbaw, M. (2020). A meta-analytic review of the relationship between dispositional gratitude and well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 164, 110101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110101

Reyes, V., et al. (2022). Dispositional Gratitude as an Underlying Psychological Process Between Materialism and the Satisfaction and Frustration of Basic Psychological Needs: A Longitudinal Mediational Analysis. Journal of Happiness Studies, 23(2), 561–586. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-021-00414-0

Ryan, R.M., Deci, E.L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. New York: Guilford Publications.

Sychev, O.A., Gordeeva, T.O., Lunkina, M.V., Osin, E.N., & Sidneva, A.N. (2018). Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale. Psikhologicheskaya nauka i obrazovanie (Psychological Science and Education), 6, 5–15. https://doi.org/10.17759/ pse.2018230601 (In Russ.).

Twenge, J.M. (2020). Increases in depression, self-harm, and suicide among U. S. adolescents after 2012 and links to technology use: Possible mechanisms. Psychiatric Research and Clinical Practice, 2(1), 19–25. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.prcp.20190015

Veisson, M. (1999). Depression symptoms and emotional states in parents of disabled and non-disabled children. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 27(1), 87–97. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.1999.27.1.87

Watson, D., Naragon-Gainey K. (2010). On the specificity of positive emotional dysfunction in psychopathology: Evidence from the mood and anxiety disorders and schizophrenia/schizotypy. Clinical Psychology Review, 30(7), 839–848. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.cpr.2009.11.002\

Weiner, B., Russell, D., Lerman, D. (1979). The cognition–emotion process in achievement-related contexts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37(7), 1211–1220. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.37.7.1211

Wood, A.M., Froh, J.J., Geraghty, A.W.A. (2010). Gratitude and well-being: A review and theoretical integration: Positive Clinical Psychology. Clinical Psychology Review, 30(7), 890–905. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.03.005

Wood, A.M., Joseph, S., Linley, P.A. (2007). Coping style as a psychological resource of grateful people. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 26(9), 1076–1093. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2007.26.9.1076

Wood, A.M., Maltby, J., Stewart, N., Linley, P.A., Joseph, S. (2008). A social-cognitive model of trait and state levels of gratitude. Emotion, 8(2), 281–290. https://doi.org/10.1037/1528-3542.8.2.281

To cite this article:

Sychev, O.A., Gordeeva, Т.О., Titova Grandchamp Victoria A., Rudnova, N.A., Kornienko, D.S. . Dispositional Gratitude as a Mediator in the Influence of Life Goals on Psychological Well-Being. // National Psychological Journal 2023. 4. p.123-136. doi: 10.11621/npj.2023.0411

Copied to Clipboard

Copy