The impact of a gratitude intervention on mental well‐being during COVID‐19: A quasi‐experimental study of university students

Previous research suggest that gratitude interventions are effective in improving mental well‐being, which might be beneficial to university students during the COVID‐19 pandemic. This quasi‐experimental study sought to investigate if a gratitude intervention will lead to higher mental well‐being of university students during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Participants (N = 47) mental well‐being was assessed before and after 10 weekly gratitude reflection journals and statistically compared with a control group (N = 40). An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyze the data. The treatment group showed significantly higher well‐being after the gratitude intervention compared with the control group (Cohen's d = 0.74). The treatment group significantly increased (Cohen's d = 0.35) and the control group significantly decreased (Cohen's d = −0.41). Gratitude interventions may be effective in improving the mental well‐being of university students even during a crisis such as the COVID‐19 pandemic. Gratitude interventions seem suitable for improving mental well‐being for temporary mental challenges of university students such as a pandemic or other forms of crisis.