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What Predicts Positive Life Events that Influence the Course of Depression? A Longitudinal Examination of Gratitude and Meaning in Life

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Abstract

Decades of research have shown that positive life events contribute to the remission and recovery of depression; however, it is unclear how positive life events are generated. In this study, we sought to understand if personality strengths could predict positive life events that aid in the alleviation of depression. We tested a longitudinal mediation model where gratitude and meaning in life lead to increased positive life events and, in turn, decreased depression. The sample consisted of 797 adult participants from 43 different countries who completed online surveys at five timepoints. Higher levels of gratitude and meaning in life each predicted decreases in depression over 3 and 6 months time. Increases in positive life events mediated the effects of these personality strengths on depression over 3 months; however, not over 6 months. Goal pursuit and positive emotions are theorized to be the driving forces behind gratitude and meaning in life’s effects on positive life events. We used the hedonic treadmill to interpret the short-term impact of positive life events on depression. Our findings suggest the potential for gratitude and meaning in life interventions to facilitate depression remission.

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Notes

  1. Note this is different than optimism, which is expecting the positive in the future. Gratitude is about noticing the positive in the present.

  2. Note this is different than the meaning of life, which is a philosophical issue.

  3. When estimating random effects for both the predictor and mediation, the covariance of the random effects is added to the indirect effect (Kenny et al. 2003); however, because we did not estimate these random effects, there was no covariance to add.

  4. Within a moderated mediation framework, the regular mediation results are equal to the moderated mediation results when the moderator is equal to its mean.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA

    David J. Disabato, Todd B. Kashdan & Jerome L. Short

  2. Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand

    Aaron Jarden

Authors
  1. David J. Disabato
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  2. Todd B. Kashdan
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  3. Jerome L. Short
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  4. Aaron Jarden
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Correspondence to Todd B. Kashdan.

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Conflict of Interest

Although not directly associated with this study, Todd B. Kashdan has received grant funding from the Center for the Advancement of Well-being at George Mason University. David J. Disabato, Jerome L. Short, and Aaron Jarden declare they have no conflict of interests.

Informed Consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (national and institutional). Informed consent was obtained from all individual subjects participating in the study.

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All institutional and national guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals were followed.

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Disabato, D.J., Kashdan, T.B., Short, J.L. et al. What Predicts Positive Life Events that Influence the Course of Depression? A Longitudinal Examination of Gratitude and Meaning in Life. Cogn Ther Res 41, 444–458 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-016-9785-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-016-9785-x

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