Sponsor
This work was supported by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health [T03OH008435]; Northwest Health Foundation [14180]
Published In
Journal of Positive Psychology
Document Type
Post-Print
Publication Date
2-2019
Subjects
Gratitude, Affect (Psychology), Emotions, Well-being, Physical fitness, Nursing, Positive psychology
Abstract
Literature examining well-being benefits of gratitude experiences is currently thriving in psychological science. However, evidence of the physical health benefits of gratitude remains limited. Research and theory in affective science suggests an indirect relationship between gratitude and physical health. This study examines how receiving expressions of gratitude predicts physical health outcomes in a sample of acute care nurses over time. Registered nurses (N = 146) practicing in Oregon completed weekly surveys over 12 consecutive weeks describing their positive and negative events, health, and work-related experiences. Multilevel mediation models revealed that being thanked more often at work was positively related to a nurse's satisfaction with the care they provided within that week, which subsequently predicted sleep quality, sleep adequacy, headaches, and attempts to eat healthy. These findings contribute to literature demonstrating the health benefits of gratitude by indicating that benefactors may experience improvements in subjective physical health through positive domain-relative satisfaction.
Locate the Document
DOI
10.1080/17439760.2019.1579353
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/28690
Citation Details
Starkey, A. R., Mohr, C. D., Cadiz, D. M., & Sinclair, R. R. (2019). Gratitude reception and physical health: Examining the mediating role of satisfaction with patient care in a sample of acute care nurses. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 1-10.
Description
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Positive Psychology on February 2019, available online: http://wwww.tandfonline.com/10.1080/17439760.2019.1579353.