The effects of gratitude on divorce adjustment and well-being of middle-aged divorced women.

Abstract

This dissertation investigated whether daily journaling of feelings of gratitude would enhance divorce adjustment and well-being in traditional, divorced, middle-aged women who were active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS, Mormon, or The LDS Church). Subjects ( N = 136) were divorced women subscribing to the Latter-day Saints Singles Online (LDSSO) and LDS Promise listservs. The study employed a pretest/posttest randomized experimental design. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of two intervention groups or a wait-list control condition. One intervention group received active instruction in journaling gratitude experiences, the second intervention group received a placebo treatment that consisted of the reading of educational materials, and the control group was wait-listed during the intervention period; that is, they received no intervention or contact from the experimenter and were only instructed to complete the pretest/posttest at roughly the same time that these measures were administered to the two intervention groups. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was performed to determine if there was a change in the dependent variables, divorce adjustment (FDAS [Fisher Divorce Adjustment Scale]) and satisfaction with life (SWLS [Satisfaction With Life Scale]), with respect to pretest/posttest scores and whether this varied by group. The covariate consisted of FDAS and SWLS scores at pretest and the independent variable was group. The overall results from this dissertation study suggested that neither the gratitude nor the placebo education intervention significantly affected divorce adjustment or satisfaction with life as measured by the respective scales. This lack of significance is interesting, especially in light of recent and ongoing research that has found that journaling of gratitude experiences similar to the intervention used in this study has a significant effect on the well-being of study participants. Possible explanations for the lack of significance include sample and assessment ceiling effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)