Childhood emotional maltreatment can have a profound impact on well-being. However, past research has largely focused on individual well-being, making it noteworthy to examine whether childhood emotional maltreatment predicts social well-being beyond individual well-being. To fill this gap, the current study employed a daily diary approach to investigate the independent effect of childhood emotional maltreatment on social well-being, and examined gratitude's mediating role in the relationship. A total of 483 participants (Mage = 19.30, SDage = 2.12) completed daily surveys for 14 consecutive days. The results of the multilevel regression analysis indicated that childhood emotional maltreatment negatively and independently predicted social well-being, even after controlling for individual wellbeing, other forms of maltreatment (i.e., physical and sexual maltreatment), age and gender. Moreover, multilevel mediation analysis elucidated that gratitude served as a mediating factor in this association. In summary, these findings underscore the adverse effects of emotional maltreatment on social well-being and suggest gratitude as a possible intervention focus.

Prior research has revealed the relationship between gratitude and prosocial behavior, but less is known about the predictive effects of cognitive and affective aspects of gratitude on prosocial behavior. The objective of this study was to explore the cross-sectional and longitudinal effects of affective gratitude and cognitive gratitude on prosocial behavior applying the bi-factor model. Study 1 employed a cross-sectional approach including measurements of affective gratitude, cognitive gratitude and prosocial behavior in a sample of 329 participants (294 females, Mage = 20.02, SDage = 2.38) and revealed that general gratitude but not affective gratitude or cognitive gratitude positively predicted prosocial behavior even after controlling for relevant demographic variables. In study 2, a total of 237 college students (213 females, Mage = 20.43, SDage = 2.12) participated in a two-wave longitudinal study and the results showed the same pattern that only general gratitude, neither affective gratitude nor cognitive gratitude, independently predicted subsequent prosocial behavior over 6 months. These findings provide preliminary evidence for the link between the bi-factor structure of gratitude and prosocial behavior, highlight the essential role of overall tendency to experience gratitude in predicting prosocial behavior, and offer new perspectives in promoting prosocial behavior via gratitude interventions.

During the past decade, research on the association between childhood maltreatment (CM) and gratitude has been accumulating, but there is a lack of systematic, quantitative evaluation of existing literature. The present systematic review aims to fill this gap by conducting a three-level meta-analysis. After a comprehensive search in five English and three Chinese databases, we retrieved 33 effect sizes from 16 studies with a total sample of 13,818 participants. The results showed that CM (aggregated across forms) was negatively and moderately linked to gratitude (r=−.311, 95% CI [−0.382, −0.235]). Childhood neglect (i.e., physical and emotional neglect) exhibited more substantial effects on gratitude than emotional abuse, while the effects of childhood physical and sexual abuse were insignificant. In addition, the mean effect sizes were larger in studies with younger samples. However, the effect did not vary as functions of CM measurement, methodological rigor, whether the sample included college students only, publication type, or region of the sample. Last, we highlighted the limitations of existing research, proposed agendas for future studies, and discussed practical implications.

The positive psychological construct of gratitude is crucial for health and well-being. Previous studies have shown a significant positive correlation between gratitude and social well-being. However, no studies have examined this potentially reciprocal relationship from a longitudinal perspective. According to the broaden-and-build theory and gratitude amplification theory, we hypothesized that gratitude has a predictive effect on social well-being. In addition, based on the personality and social relationships model and self-determination theory, we proposed that social well-being is an antecedent to gratitude. In summary, this research combines a longitudinal study and a daily diary investigation to systematically explore the causal relation between gratitude and social well-being. Study 1 employs a two-wave cross-lagged design to explore the long-term relationship between trait gratitude and social well-being. The sample comprised 563 undergraduate students, who all participated online. Pursuant to the study purpose, participants were asked to complete the gratitude and social well-being scales twice, separated by a seven-month interval. The cross-lagged path analysis suggested reciprocal effects between trait gratitude and social well-being. To reduce recall bias and explore the short-term association between gratitude and social well-being, Study 2 employs a daily diary method. A total of 274 young adults completed daily gratitude and social well-being measures for 21 consecutive days. In Study 1, trait gratitude at T1 significantly positively predicted social well-being at T2, while social well-being at T1 also significantly predicted trait gratitude at T2. These effects remained significant after controlling for age and gender. Consistent with Study 1, Study 2 also revealed a reciprocal relationship: state gratitude on one day positively predicted social well-being the next day, while social well-being on one day also positively predicted state gratitude the next day. Moreover, these relationships were stable after controlling for time trend. Overall, the results of Study 1 and Study 2 support the hypotheses by showing reciprocal predictive effects between gratitude and social well-being. In summary, we predicted that experiencing gratitude would lead to higher social well-being, which would, in turn, result in higher gratitude, activating an upward spiral. This work deepens understanding of the interaction between gratitude and social well-being, paving the way for future intervention research to help increase both.

Childhood maltreatment (CM), including physical, emotional, and sexual maltreatment, is detrimental to adolescents' psychological and behavioral outcomes. However, most studies on the relationship between CM and prosocial behavior focused on the overall experience of CM. Since different forms of CM exert various influences on adolescents, it is essential to find out which form of CM has the strongest link with prosocial behavior and the underlying mechanism behind it to fully understand this relationship and design a specific intervention for promoting prosocial behavior.Guided by internal working model theory and hopelessness theory, this study aimed to investigate the connections of multiple forms of CM with prosocial behavior, and explore the mediating mechanism of gratitude from the perspective of the broaden-and-build theory through a 14-day daily diary study.

Preceding research has demonstrated the positive relation between gratitude and well-being at the trait level, but less is known about the day-to-day association between them. This study investigated the within-person associations of gratitude with hedonic and eudaimonic well-being using a daily diary design. A sample of 363 young adults (M = 19.77, SD = 1.84) finished an online questionnaire once a day for 14 consecutive days. The results indicated that gratitude was positively related to hedonic and eudaimonic well-being on the same day, and gratitude positively predicted next-day hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, but not vice versa. We also found the reciprocal relation between the cognitive component of daily hedonic well-being (i.e., life satisfaction) and daily gratitude measured by the Gratitude Questionnaire. Moreover, these cross-lagged relations were not moderated by trait gratitude. These results provide supportive and convincing evidence for the positive effect of gratitude at the state level.