Gratitude and health behaviours: A temporal affective self‐regulation resource analysis across 24 samples

OBJECTIVES: Although research increasingly highlights the relevance of gratitude for understanding consequential health outcomes, including health behaviours, the reasons why gratitude plays a role remain unclear. The current study investigated the extent to which gratitude is associated with the practice of health-promoting behaviours, and the factors that contribute to this association. Guided by the Temporal Affective Self-Regulation Resource model, we examined the contributions of positive and negative affect, and future time-orientation (FTO) as self-regulation resources for explaining the association between gratitude and health behaviours across multiple samples. METHODS: Twenty-four samples (N = 6967) from community, student and medical populations reporting correlations between state or trait gratitude and the practice of health-promoting behaviours were included. Random effects meta-analyses were conducted on the raw and semi-partial correlations of gratitude with health behaviours controlling for positive and negative affect and FTO. Moderator analyses evaluated the impact of demographic, methodological and conceptual factors. RESULTS: = .270; 95% CIs [.24, .30]). Subgroup and meta-regression moderator analyses were not significant. Meta-analyses of the semi-partial correlations revealed significant but lower magnitude associations between gratitude and health-promoting behaviours after controlling for positive affect, negative affect and FTO. CONCLUSIONS: The current study provides initial evidence indicating that gratitude is associated with the practice of health-promoting behaviours, and insights into the self-regulation factors that contribute to this association. Taken together with previous intervention research, these findings highlight gratitude as an alternative, strengths-based approach to health behaviour change across different populations and contexts.