An Exploratory Study About the Buffering Effect of Gratitude on the Relationship Between Neuroticism and Anhedonic Depression

This study explored the interactive and independent effects of gratitude and neuroticism on anhedonic depression. The tripartite theory of affect deems blunted positive affect to be tantamount to anhedonia (Clark and Watson in J Abnorm Psychol 100:316–336, 1991); hence, gratitude as a positive affective trait was posited to be related to anhedonic depression. A sample of 493 undergraduate students completed measures of the variables. Hierarchical regression showed that even though gratitude did not appear to moderate the relationship between neuroticism and anhedonic depression, it had a significant main effect on the outcome such that those who had higher gratitude scores exhibited lower levels of anhedonic depression even after controlling for the effects of both positive and negative affect. Implications of the findings regarding gratitude’s utility as a resiliency factor against anhedonic depression as well as its potential to buffer against the effects of many risk factors other than neuroticism are discussed. Researchers and mental health practitioners are encouraged to explore the nature of gratitude as a possible resource of individuals at risk for developing psychopathology, as there may be multiple avenues through which gratitude could be fostered in psychotherapy and in everyday life.