Gratitude and courage indirectly reduce the risk of suicidal thoughts and increase life purpose: Evidence from a model of mediated moderation (2023)

Suicide is a major public health concern among US military veterans, but little is known about the factors associated with the decline in suicide attempts in this population. Our aim was to identify the risk and protective correlates of remission of suicidal ideation and behavior (STB) in US veterans with a prior suicide attempt. Data was analyzed from the 2019-2020 National Veterans Health and Resiliency Study. A wide range of sociodemographic, military, physical and mental health, and psychosocial variables were assessed. Life purpose, dispositional gratitude, and conscientiousness were found to be independent correlates of STS remission (24.3% to 40.3% of the explained variance), even after accounting for other relevant risk and protective factors. Although the cross-sectional nature of the study precludes the possibility of determining whether the identified protective factors are causally related to STS remission, the results suggest three potentially modifiable targets for veteran suicide prevention efforts. Longitudinal studies are needed to better understand the role of purpose in life, attitude of gratitude, and conscientiousness in promoting STS remission in veterans and other suicidal populations.

The two-factor model of mental health emphasizes the integration of subjective well-being and psychopathology to achieve a comprehensive conceptualization of mental health. When used in school-wide assessments, this two-factor approach provides a more complete picture of students' mental health. In a sample of adolescents (Norte= 404) attending a high school in the US Midwest (grades 6-8), the current study empirically identified mental health clusters through latent profiling analysis (LPA) and examined how adherence to the profile was affected by various demographic variables, school performance, Determination, courage and a growth mentality were generally predicted. Three mental health profiles have emerged:complete mental health(above-average life and affect satisfaction, below-average internalization and externalization of problems),Symptomatic but included.(above average contentment and affection, above average internalization and externalization difficulties) andupset(Life satisfaction and affect below average, internalizing and externalizing difficulties above average). These profiles partially supported the two-factor model of mental health, although no vulnerable group was identified. Gender, SES, racial identity, and IEP status were significant predictors of adherence to the mental health profile. Academic achievement, general merit, academic merit, and growth mentality were also significant predictors of mental health group membership. Limitations, future directions, and implications are discussed, including how these findings affect school psychology theory and practice.

Journal of Research in Personality, Band 47, Ausgabe 5, 2013, S. 547-552

Classical and contemporary lines of research have examined the psychological significance ofdifferentiation of self-understanding(SCD), the tendency to see yourself in different social contexts with different personality traits. A key question is whether SCD stands for specialization or, conversely, indicates fragmentation and psychological maladaptation. Here we offer the first meta-analytic overview of the results of more than 50 years of research on SCD and psychological adjustment (k=54 samples). The results provided general clues about the fragmentation position and the importance of a consistent self-concept for individual adaptation. However, ongoing analysis by moderators revealed that the impact depends heavily on the cultural background of the individual. The more individualistic the cultural sample, the stronger the association between SCD and psychological maladjustment.

Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 55, Number 7, 2013, pp. 805-810

Despite a variety of interventions to improve well-being, little is known about those who care about and exercise themselves. We examine individual differences that predict who is more likely to participate in a voluntary gratitude intervention. Students (Norte=226) completed measurements of curiosity, depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, and intent to change lifestyle. Participants then received a personalized invitation to participate in a web-based intervention to improve their well-being (anonymously and strictly voluntarily). The results indicate that 11.5% of the participants initiated the gratitude intervention. Individuals who support strong intentions to change their lifestyle (+1Dakota del Surabove average) were 2.2 times more likely than their peers to initiate the Gratitude Intervention. The people most curious advocated greater intentions for starting this intervention; People with stronger depressive symptoms supported weaker intentions. Both curiosity and depressive symptoms indirectly influenced the initiation of the gratitude intervention through intentions. These findings support specific pathways that take the initial behavioral effort toward healthy change. We discuss the implications of trying to increase and maintain people's well-being.

Journal of Psychiatric Research, Band 135, 2021, S. 279-288

Dispositional gratitude may be associated with positive mental health effects, but population data on this association is lacking. Military veterans are an ideal population to study this question given the high rates of psychiatric morbidity and efforts to promote psychological resilience in this population. Data from a nationally representative sample of 3,151 US veterans was analyzed. The veterans were divided into three groups based on a rating of their level of gratitude: high gratitude (weight 79.8%), moderate gratitude (9.6%), and low gratitude (10.5%). Multivariate analyzes examined associations between levels of dispositional gratitude and measures of mental health and psychosocial variables. A "dose-response" association between levels of dispositional gratitude and the likelihood of psychiatric morbidity was observed. Greater willingness to show gratitude was associated with a lower risk of a history of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), social phobia, nicotine addiction, and suicide attempts, as well as a lower risk of current PTSD, MDD, generalized anxiety, and suicidal tendencies. Idea generation (odds ratio range = 0.16-0.65). Greater willingness to show gratitude has also been linked to characteristics that promote resilience, such as optimism, curiosity, purpose in life, perceived social support, and religiosity/spirituality (Cohendrange = 0.11-0.73). Dispositional gratitude is widespread among US veterans, is negatively associated with psychiatric illness, and may help promote psychosocial factors related to resilience in this population. Stratifying veterans into low, medium, and high gratitude can help identify those who are at higher risk for psychiatric disorders and need additional support.

Addictive Behavior, Volume 38, Number 4, 2013, pp. 1912-1919

Although prominent patterns of alcohol use and abuse implicate stress as a major driver of alcohol use, research has not consistently found a link between stress and the consequences of alcohol use. Stress is believed to lead to increased alcohol consumption and related problems, particularly in people who lack other coping methods to effectively manage stressful experiences. To test this hypothesis, we examined four adaptive coping approaches (active coping, planning, suppression of competitive activities, and restraint) as predictors of alcohol use and related problems, and as moderators of stress-alcohol use relationships in the university population. (Norte=225). In addition, we examined coping motives for drinking as potential mediators of coping strategy effects, as well as stress from coping strategy interactions. The analyzes supported both restriction and suppression of competitive activities as moderators of the impact of stress on alcohol use, but not as problems. The interaction between restraint and stress was also evident in predicting coping motives, and coping motives were associated with higher weekly alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems. Finally, coping motives for drinking served to mediate the stress through restrictive interactions in weekly alcohol consumption. Taken together, these results suggest that efforts to suppress competitive activities and curb impulsive responses to stress may reduce the risk of binge drinking during the high school-to-college transition.

The American Journal of Surgery, Band 213, Nummer 2, 2017, S. 288-2

Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 55, Number 5, 2013, pp. 595-599

With suicidal behavior being a leading cause of injury and death worldwide, researchers need to expand ongoing efforts to discover protective factors. In this study, we examined whether gratitude mitigated existing risk factors for suicide. Specifically, we predicted that gratitude moderated the relationship between suicidal ideation and (a) hopelessness and (b) depressive symptoms in a sample of 369 different college students. The results show that in people who are very grateful, both hopelessness and depressive symptoms are less likely to be associated with suicidal thoughts and intentions. The results demonstrate the value of integrating protective factors against suicide, including character strengths such as gratitude, into existing theories that tend to be limited to vulnerability factors. We offer experimental ideas for increasing the impact of suicide prevention and intervention programs by dealing directly with gratitude, which has been shown to be highly modifiable.