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Literature Review

This literature review examines the constructs of optimism, gratitude, resilience, and self-esteem, exploring their interrelationships and impacts on individual well-being. It highlights significant research findings, methodological approaches, and gaps in existing studies, suggesting directions for future research. The review emphasizes the importance of these psychological traits in enhancing self-esteem and overall mental health.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
41 views19 pages

Literature Review

This literature review examines the constructs of optimism, gratitude, resilience, and self-esteem, exploring their interrelationships and impacts on individual well-being. It highlights significant research findings, methodological approaches, and gaps in existing studies, suggesting directions for future research. The review emphasizes the importance of these psychological traits in enhancing self-esteem and overall mental health.

Uploaded by

Michael
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Addis Ababa University

College of Education and


Behavioral Studies

School of Psychology

Literature Review

Group members:
1. Lidet Deribew (UGR/2075/15)
2. Michael Adamu (UGR/7967/15)
3. Sirajudin Mohamed (UGR/2122/15)
4. Yeabsira Abebe (UGR/2581/15)

Submitted to: Dr. Sisay Yemane


December 2024
Contents
Literature Review............................................................................................................................2
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Optimism.........................................................................................................................................2
Gratitude..........................................................................................................................................4
Resilience.........................................................................................................................................7
Crossover.......................................................................................................................................10
Theoretical Framework..................................................................................................................12
References......................................................................................................................................15

1
Literature Review

Introduction

This literature review aims to elucidate the nature of optimism, gratitude, resilience, and self-
esteem and the relationship between them by assessing the available studies on the subject. Each
construct will first be reviewed by referencing research that have had a sizeable contribution on
the subject which includes older seminal studies as well as more recent literature that played a
role in advancing the field. This will allow for a comprehensive survey of the variables before
addressing the relationship or mediating role they might have on self-esteem. Each section aims
to highlight how various studies had described the way in which the different variables affect
self-esteem before addressing the crossover between them. Furthermore, this literature review
will attempt to address the limitations and gaps of these studies and provide some suggestion for
the direction of future research.

Optimism

Positive Psychology was founded by Seligman with the aim of discovering the potential and
strength of individuals (Gawas, 2024). The concept tries to understand what factors influence
subjective well-being and positive mental health (Duy & Yıldız, 2019). Subjective well-being
can be seen as having a pleasant life, enjoying engaging activities, and living longer. Positive
psychology includes factors such as optimism, resilience happiness and self-esteem (Gawas,
2024). As reviewed in different research, self-esteem is the sense of worth one has for oneself,
including how one views the world in relation to oneself (Wani & Dar, 2017). It is a very
powerful value that can impact our cognition and motivation.

Self-esteem can also represent the attitudes we have about ourselves and higher levels of self-
esteem can be characterized by respect and a sense of being well enough (Duy & Yıldız, 2019).
It doesn’t imply superiority but rather a stable sense of self. Self-esteem can go side by side with
personal goal-oriented achievements and through building how we see our self. In reverse it
become the reflection of what we think society sees us and our level of confronting new
challenges (Gawas, 2024). Having self-esteem and knowing how to enhance it is essential

2
because low self-esteem increases the risk of suicide, anxiety, depression and overall mental
health problems as shown in different studies (Wani & Dar, 2017).

Optimism is a tendency to believe in the future holding good things, which in turn leads to goal-
oriented action hoping for positive outcome (Wani & Dar, 2017). In addition to that, optimistic
individuals showed more effort in life due to a belief that the consequences of their action will
have positive outcomes (Duy & Yıldız, 2019). Having such positive expectation from life have
been shown to correlate with better well-being. Furthermore, optimistic individuals have a high
probability of high academic performance, psychological well-being and career success (Wani &
Dar, 2017).

Both studies done by Duy and Yildiz (2019) and Wani and Dar (2017) showed a significant
relationship among optimism and self-esteem. Happiness is one of the variables mentioned on
the studies related to optimism and self-esteem. Gawas (2024) mainly defined it as a state of
satisfaction, enjoyment, and pleasant feeling. Studies have shown happy individuals fare better in
every dimension of life (Wani & Dar, 2017). Research done on the impact of optimism,
happiness, and self-esteem on the quality of life among Yemeni students defined the variables in
different ways (Gawas, 2024). Optimism was viewed as an emotional state that can shape the
past, present and future because it involves letting go of the past for the better and engaging in
activities that would even make it better. However, pessimistic individuals feel like that they
have lost the desire for change and control. The variables mentioned above such as optimism and
self-esteem are a base ground to establish quality of life and increase satisfaction (Gawas, 2024).

A degree of similarity can be observed across research methodology and ensuing results.
Research done by Wani and Dar (2017) aimed to find a correlation among variables. Male
students have shown higher levels of self-esteem, optimism, and happiness. The researchers
distributed a questionnaire to university students in one setting by informing the research and
acknowledging their collaboration at the end, clearly following the ethical flow. A study done by
Gawas (2024) was also conducted on students and it had a large sample size of 657. The data
was collected through electronics questionnaires and the result showed that optimism, happiness
and self-esteem are a significant predictor of quality of life. Almost all researches use
Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale (Gawas, 2024; Duy & Yıldız, 2019; Wani & Dar, 2017) which is a
commonly known and used tool. A study conducted by Hutz, et al. (2014) explored cultural

3
variations in different variables between Americans and Brazilians. Hope and life satisfaction
was higher in Americans and optimism was higher in Brazilians. This could be attributed to
cultural difference in individualistic and collectivistic community.

Some other different studies have been conducted through the years. One study conducted by
Lemola, et al. (2013) mainly focuses on understanding the concept of optimism and self-esteem
by adding the influence of sleep quality (insomnia and sleep duration). This research has
indicated that sleeping less than 7 hours and more than 8 hours can significantly affect
psychological health. It has been observed that good sleep duration predicted higher level of
optimism and self-esteem.

Research done on the relation between optimism and self-esteem has some gaps that can be
ameliorated in future research. For instance, majority of the studies (Gawas, 2024; Duy & Yıldız,
2019; Wani & Dar, 2017) included student as a sample and a lot of research done in positive
psychology is mainly dependent on the youth. In addition, the research papers lack detailed
procedure which hinders replicability.

Gratitude

Gratitude plays a primary role in human interactions and interpersonal relationships (Hongyu, et
al., 2015). Given its importance, it isn’t surprising that studies dealing with it date back to the
late 1930s. Early work done by Baumgarten-Tramer (1938) was essential in elucidating the
nature of the trait by focusing on gratitude as it manifested itself in children and adolescents.
Gratitude was embedded in the social and interpersonal context of human interactions and given
centrality for its role in mediating the dynamic between a giver and receiver.

Baumgarten-Tramer conducted their study by collecting data through two questions, and
responses to the latter went through content analysis to categorize gratitude into four types:
verbal, concrete, connective, and finalistic. The study (Baumgarten-Tramer, 1938) indicated that
children might express gratitude differently as they grow. Qualitative changes in their cognitive
abilities allowed them to shift from expressing concrete gratitude—characterized by egocentrism
—to connective gratitude—marked by an ability to consider other’s points of view. Contrary to
age variance, the study didn’t find evidence regarding the gender variability of gratitude.

4
Given it’s an early study, Baumgarten-Tramer's (1938) emphasis on the qualitative nature of
gratitude and possible cross-cultural differences is notable. However, the study had some
shortcomings. For instance, a sole reliance on written responses limits the reliability of the data
(Kormos & Gifford, 2014). In the absence of other measures, it is difficult to rule out the role of
confounding factors, such as personality and temperament, and their mediating role in gratitude
expression. Lastly, conceptualizing gratitude as mainly occurring between a giver and receiver
ignores formulations (Anderson, 2023) that focus on how gratitude can arise from a general
appreciation of one’s circumstances. While such deficiencies limit the studies' findings and
generalizability, the work done by Baumgarten-Tramer (1938) opened up doors for further
research and methodological approaches (McCullough & Emmons, 2002; Watkins, Woodward,
Stone, & Kolts, 2003).

A study conducted by McCullough and Emmons (2002) provides a more comprehensive


conceptualization of gratitude and provides different methods for studying the subject. In
contrast to Baumgarten-Tramer’s (1938) interpersonal view, McCullough and Emmons (2002)
assert that gratitude is better viewed as an affective trait. And while they acknowledge that
gratitude is often felt in response to the prosocial action of others, they propose that it’s more
helpful to understand how gratitude shapes people’s emotional responses to experiences. Watkins
et al. (2003) present a somewhat similar view, stating that individuals experience gratitude to
different degrees depending on their inherent threshold for viewing varying experiences as
entailing gratitude or not. Another point of agreement for both studies is regarding the degree to
which religious people feel grateful. They indicate that an external locus of control might explain
the positive correlation between religiosity and a grateful disposition (McCullough & Emmons,
2002; Watkins, Woodward, Stone, & Kolts, 2003).

Methodologically, both McCullough and Emmons (2002) and Watkins et al. (2003) developed
and attempted to validate a tool to measure dispositional gratitude. This is a step up from the
methods used by Baumgarten-Tramer (1938) and gives more credence to the results that are
obtained. The study conducted by McCullough and Emmons (2002) attempted to control for
confounding variables such as personality traits and social desirability. Similarly, Watkins et al.
(2003) explored how gratitude correlated with other established measures. This allowed them to
investigate how gratitude interventions might improve emotional well-being. Their results show

5
that there is reason to believe that individuals who regularly practice gratitude benefit from an
increase in emotional well-being.

Although the methodological designs of McCullough and Emmons (2002) and Watkins et al.’s
(2003) studies are relatively sound, there is still some criticism that could be levied regarding
their sampling. An over-reliance on convenient student samples in both studies, while making the
study practicable, limits the generalizability of the findings. McCullough and Emmons (2002)
attempted to curb that limitation by introducing adult samples in a follow-up study. However,
their explicit targeting of adults who were members of religious and spiritual groups probably led
to sampling bias (Taherdoost, 2016). Sampling two separate adult populations would have
allowed them to study how gratitude and spirituality correlate while generalizing the result to
other adult demographics. Additionally, the lack of background diversity in the sample causes
further doubt into the reliability of the results. But despite these limitations, the work of
McCullough and Emmons (2002) and Watkins et al. (2003) provided a strong foundation for
research on gratitude and how it correlates with other measures.

Much of the research conducted on the impact of gratitude on self-esteem is done in the
backdrop of its consequence for well-being (Lin, 2015; Yıldırım, Alshehri, & Aziz, 2019; Kong,
Ding, & Zhao, 2014). Most studies find common ground in their assertion that the gains in well-
being that individuals who practice or are disposed towards expressing gratitude experience are
partially mediated by self-esteem. For instance, one study conducted by Lin (2015) provides
some support for this linkage. They show through reference to moral affect theory that
individuals who feel grateful are likely to view themselves as worthy of receiving benefits from
others. As a consequence, individuals who practice gratitude form a better evaluation of
themselves which inadvertently impacts their well-being and guards them against maladaptive
emotional states such as depression. Similarly, Kong et al. (2014) tried to show how individuals
who practice gratitude tend to focus on the positive aspects of their life which leads them to have
a better evaluation of themselves. Furthermore, individuals who express their gratefulness when
receiving favors are more likely to build a strong support system that provides a foundation for
healthy self-esteem.

These studies provide elucidating information on the nature of gratitude and its relation to self-
esteem. Their usage of validated instruments and appropriate statistical analysis gives credence

6
to their findings (Taherdoost, Validity and reliability of the research instrument, 2016).
Nevertheless, the lack of experimental design limits what can be said about the casual
relationship between gratitude and self-esteem (Zubair, 2023). Replicating designs such as Walsh
et al.’s (2022) that attempt to provide evidence for the immediate positive impact of expressing
gratitude on motivation and applying them to gratitude interventions for increasing self-esteem
might provide more concrete data on the direct relationship between gratitude and self-esteem.

Resilience

Resilience has been the subject of not only psychological research but also medicinal and
organizational studies among many others (Sisto, et al., 2019; Chmitorz, et al., 2018; Hillmann &
Guenther, 2021). This shows the pervasive interest in the trait and its importance for the different
aspects of human life. Whether it be in the context of development or a more concrete context
such as the workplace or school, resilience shows itself to be an important trait to harness if an
individual wishes to grow past adversity (Sawalha, 2015). Keeping this in mind, the following
paragraphs will address psychological research on resilience and how it correlates with self-
esteem.

Given the general interest in the subject, it isn’t surprising that the construct of resilience can be
approached from many perspectives (Stainton, et al., 2018). As a dynamic trait, resilience is
characterized by the process of adaptation required to overcome adversity. Resilient individuals
usually find themselves in a better place than they were before encountering a difficulty
(Yıldırım & Green, Social support and resilience mediate the relationship of stress with
satisfaction with life and flourishing of youth, 2024); flourishing past challenges, instead of just
coasting by, is an essential aspect of resilience.

Some studies attempt to conceptualize and categorize reliance and its facets. One such research
done by Hofgaard, et al. (2021) advances two types of resilience. Type 1 resilience is
characterized by its effort in curbing negative health outcomes. Individuals with this type of
resilience are expected to exhibit lower levels of adverse effects after going through adversity.
Type 2 resilience, on the other hand, is centered around promoting positive health outcomes. This
type of resilience leads individuals to foster more than average well-being than is expected after
passing through a challenging experience.

7
Hofgaard, et al. (2021) also attempt to address how individual differences in resilience types and
differences in resilience, in general, may emerge. By sampling the twin population from the
country’s registry, the study proceeded to collect data on experienced adversity, life satisfaction,
and internalizing symptoms. Analysis of the data showed that while genetic factors contribute to
the development of resilience, environmental factors have a far considerable effect. Studies into
the neurophysiology of resilience conducted by Shi, et al. (2019) somewhat support this notion.
Genetic variance in the composition of some brain regions affects the degree to which resilience
is developed. However, specific experiences might strengthen the neural connections in those
particular regions and therefore have an impact on the development of resilience (Diniz &
Crestani, 2023).

Hofgaard, et al.’s (2021) study, while being informative regarding an underexplored topic,
contains some issues in its sampling and conceptualization of resilience. There was a response
rate of 64% among the sampled population of twins in Norway, which is less than ideal. Making
sure that non-response bias is accounted for is important given that the study’s aim requires
individuals with all types of experiences to be sampled (Runze & Van IJzendoorn, 2023).
However, given the lack of such efforts, the possibility of a systematic difference between the
sets of twins that chose to participate and those that did not foster doubt regarding the reliability
of the results.

When it comes to the conceptualization of resilience, Hofgaard, et al.’s (2021) sole focus on
metrics that assess the gap between an individual’s expected and actual level of well-being post-
adversity might not capture the full extent of resilience as a trait. Individuals react differently to
stressors depending on the resources available to them (Baqutayan, 2015). Social support
systems and coping strategies play an important role in reducing the adverse effects of stress.

In contrast to the previous study, Bonanno, et al. (2015) provides a temporally comprehensive
view of resilience and how it manifests in the real world. Classifying the process of resilience
into discrete temporal elements, they believe, allows for a better framework for understanding
resilience. As opposed to Hofgaard, et al. (2021), Bonanno, et al.’s (2015) study attempts to
account for factors that influence resilience along a temporally unfolding process of adjustment.
This means that the elements put forward by Bonanno, et al. (2015) (pre-, during, and post-
adversity) are conceptualized in relation to measures such as coping strategies, social support,

8
and available resources. These factors, along with the mediating role of resilience, predict the
mental health outcomes of individuals as they pass through difficulty.

Recent research into the correlation and possible mediating relationship between resilience and
self-esteem is focused on how these two variables affect other measures. For instance, a study
conducted by Sangma and Naila (2024) on loneliness among Indian college students showed the
mediating role of resilience and self-esteem. The study’s findings suggest that resilience can
ward off negative outcomes on self-esteem that might emerge due to loneliness and lack of social
support. Furthermore, the study found gender variance in resilience. However, given the data was
self-reported and the lack of control for social desirability bias, the seeming variance can be
attributed to perceived social pressure on the part of the male participants to exhibit resilience in
the face of adversity (Neckar & Lazaro Szlachta, 2019).

Another study conducted by Saaduddin, et al. (2023) in an Indonesian high school provides some
evidence for the protective role of resilience. The studies participants were students who had
experiences of bullying. The researchers provided a questionnaire that included scales to measure
self-esteem and resilience. Afterwards, the collected data was then run through a regression
analysis. The results found a high correlation between resilience and self-esteem which suggests
that individuals with high resilience managed to preserve their self-esteem. On the other hand,
the findings suggest that individuals with low levels of resilience are likely to struggle with
preserving their self-esteem post-adversity.

This finding on the capacity of resilience for shielding off negative outcomes was also replicated
in other studies (Li, et al., 2020; Cui, et al., 2024; Sangma & Naila, 2024) and seems to be the
general trend in the field. Furthermore, Saaduddin, et al. (2023) also assert that the stressors of
bullying might provide an opportunity for more resilient individuals to persevere past adversity
and build firmer foundations for their self-esteem.

While the efforts of Saaduddin, et al. (2023) and Sangma and Naila (2024) are commendable in
their attempts to provide evidence for the role of resilience as a mediative and protective measure
against negative self-esteem outcomes, their research design still leaves something to be desired.
For instance, the usage of self-report measures and purposive sampling limits the generalizability
and reliability of the study’s results. The lack of longitudinal data also limits what can be said

9
about the role of resilience as it exhibits itself through time as outlined by Bonanno, et al. (2015).
It is suggested that future research on the subject provide resilience intervention and track its
manifestations on individual’s well-being and self-esteem.

Crossover
Studies on the crossover between self-esteem, resilience, optimism, and gratitude have been done
with the aim of understanding the relationship between each construct and how they mediate
each other. The knowledge gained from such research would assist professionals and
practitioners in providing efficacious interventions. Furthermore, disentangling the various ways
in which these factors mediate each other would increase the scope of available information on
behavior and its manifestation.

The first study of interest is one conducted by Lasota, et al. (2022) that explores the mediating
role of resilience on empathy and gratitude. The researchers came into this study to investigate
how gratitude could be fostered and they believed that understanding the role of resilience would
contribute to this discussion. They also state that providing a clearer vision of the relationships
between these constructs was needed given that previous studies on the matter have not been
adequately elucidative.

With that in mind, Lasota, et al. (2022) sampled 214 Polish adults using validated measurement
scales for each construct. Afterward, the data was analyzed for correlation and path of effect
between the variables. The findings show that there is a substantial positive correlation between
the three variables. Furthermore, resilience has been found to facilitate higher levels of gratitude
through its mediation role. Highly resilient individuals are apt to focus on what they can get from
an event—whether positive or negative (Finley, 2018). This puts them in an optimal position to
appreciate the lessons they have gleaned from each experience by shifting their perspective.

While Lasota, et al. (2022) findings are insightful and provide practicable suggestions for
intervention practices, there are still issues in the research design that need to be addressed. The
fact that most of the participants come from a middle socioeconomic background makes it
difficult to generalize the findings of the study (Taherdoost, 2016). Intervention methods that
might work for the middle class might prove ineffective when addressing issues in different
socioeconomic contexts. Culture also plays a major role in how these variables are

10
conceptualized, which was not addressed in the study (Shin, et al., 2020). Furthermore, sole
dependence on self-reported measures doesn’t provide enough foundation for a reliable
methodology (Kormos & Gifford, 2014). It is suggested that future studies expand the diversity
of their samples to account for underserved demographics. Additionally, using manifold tools for
measuring the variable and even perhaps utilizing experimental designs aimed at assessing the
efficacy of various interventions would provide more reliable data.

Another study of concern was conducted by Nawa and Yamagishi (2024) on the relationship
between gratitude, self-esteem, and optimism and their correlation with subjective and
psychological well-being. The goal of the study was to figure out what interventions are
appropriate for what individuals. With that in mind, they make a distinction between subjective
and psychological well-being. The former is defined as people’s evaluation of their life and how
they are feeling in the day-to-day while the latter is centered around basic competencies such as
autonomy, self-acceptance, and purpose in life (Nawa & Yamagishi, 2024). The researchers
believed that this distinction would allow them to isolate the variables and their influence on
overall well-being which would prove useful for intervention practices.

The study (Nawa & Yamagishi, 2024) proceeded to collect data using reliable measurement
scales during a lab session in which the participants were briefed on the research. Additionally,
an experience sampling method was utilized to track the momentary affect—how one is feeling
at any moment–of the participants throughout an extended period. After analyzing the collected
data, Nawa and Yamagishi found that subjective well-being is substantially impacted by self-
esteem while psychological well-being is strongly associated with gratitude. Optimism, on the
other hand, wasn’t found to strongly correlate with any of the measures except for the self-
acceptance dimension of psychological well-being. Furthermore, all three variables were shown
to be strongly correlated with a positive attitude towards life, suggesting a shared path and
common psychological basis between them.

The study also suggests that self-esteem and gratitude impact the correlation between how
people feel at a certain moment and their overall assessment of their satisfaction by the end of
the day (Nawa & Yamagishi, 2024). Individuals with higher levels of self-esteem don’t give
much weight to positive or negative events, reporting a stable level of satisfaction at the end of
the day. On the other hand, individuals with higher levels of optimism exhibit a stronger link

11
between positive moments during the day and their overall satisfaction at the end of it. This
finding can provide a firm basis on which to ground interventions regarding maladaptive mental
states as well as to increase the well-being of average individuals.

Nawa and Yamagishi (2024) stress the importance of cultural factors and their impact on the
above variables. Their study asserts that interventions should be designed to account for how a
certain culture conceptualizes various constructs. They also suggest that understanding the
individual impact of these constructs would allow for streamlined intervention based on the well-
being dimension than needs to be address in each individual.

While the study done by Nawa and Yamagishi (2024) does well to isolate the individual impact
of the variables on the different dimension of well-being, it doesn’t concretely address the way in
which these variables might mediate each other. Drawing a hardline between the impacts of the
variables might make it difficult to have a big picture understanding of their complex nature. It is
recommended that future research addresses this gap by utilizing different methodological
designs that aim to clarify intervention practices.

Theoretical Framework

According to the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions (Fredrickson, 2001) positive


emotions that people experience helps them with their overall psychological growth. It also
shows the significance of positive emotions in building and enduring personal resources. Positive
emotions are the base ground for flourishing and well-being of society, for not only the present
but also in the long run. Optimistic individuals are goal-oriented and have high expectations on
the achievability of the goal (Carver & Scheier, 2014). This research was also inclined to the
theory of dispositional Optimism, a tendency to see the future as bright despite of the past
experience.

Learned Optimism is also one of the dominant theories in the study of optimism (Seligman,
2006). Optimism has a lot of benefits and the good news is it could be learned and practiced by
everyone, mainly by changing our explanatory style and self-talk. Optimism increases measures
such as happiness, hopefulness, confidence and is related to vitality (Seligman, 2006). The study
conducted by Carver and Scheier (2014) showed that optimistic individuals have shown better

12
social life and physical health. In addition, optimistic person shows more effort and motivation
than pessimistic ones.

Dr. Morris Rosenberg defined self-esteem as being worthy and valuable. To measure this
variable, he developed the Rosenberg self-esteem scale (Jordan, 2020). Rosenberg (1979) stated
that self-esteem is related to feelings of satisfaction and wellness is highly affected by the
feedback we receive from the society. According to social comparison theory the way we assess
and give value to our self is highly influenced by the outside images (Festinger, 1957).
Observing others and comparing one’s ability to an idealized image can influence self-esteem.
This theory also states there is a natural human urge to compare oneself to people in a better
standing than us as well as those less fortunate. Individuals that are prone to habitually compare
themselves to others are at a higher risk for depression (Festinger, 1957).

Levels of self-esteem can rise and fail based on the placing of our self-worth (Crocker & Wolfe,
2001). This is based on Contingencies of Self-Worth theory which focuses on self-esteem as
being dependent on our priorities in different domains of our life. People vary in their values and
what they care about. Excelling in those domains of interest has a sizeable effect on individual’s
self-esteem.

Rosenberg's affective theory provides a stable theoretical framework for conceptualizing


gratitude (McCullough & Emmons, 2002; Watkins, Woodward, Stone, & Kolts, 2003). In this
context, gratitude is viewed as a stable predisposition towards a specific emotional response to
experience. Unlike other capricious emotional states, gratitude is seen as a stable trait that sets
the threshold for experiencing certain emotional states. For instance, an individual that is high in
dispositional gratitude feels grateful for more experiences and is likely to feel the emotions
associated with it more intensely and for a longer period (McCullough & Emmons, 2002). This
perspective allows for a concrete investigation on how the degree to which this trait is present
correlates with other measures and makes it possible to provide practicable interventions.

Another useful framework for understanding gratitude is Weiner’s attribution theory


(McCullough & Emmons, 2002). An essential aspect of gratitude is the attribution of positive
experience to some external cause, whether it be from an abstract source like a divine
intervention or something more concrete like a friend or colleague. The framework accounts for

13
this tendency and makes it possible to classify individuals along a scale of their likelihood to
ascribe and make central external events as a source of their positive experience.

A general overview of research on resilience shows a shift from a rigid conception of resilience
as growing past adversity into frameworks that seek to provide comprehensive interventions
(Vella & Pai, 2019). Theoretical frameworks that wish to account for the multiple facets of
resilience and other measures that influence it must take into account how individuals deal with
adversity across time. As Bonanno et al. (2015) asserts, resilient individuals have pre-adversity
adjustments that determine their mental health outcomes post-adversity. The resources available
to these individuals during adversity also plays an important role. No matter the level of
resilience of an individual, a lack of social support and coping strategies will negatively affect
their mental health outcomes.

14
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