Systematic review on the effectiveness of gratitude intervention in healthy people

Becerra Castillo Z.P.; Cuenca Robles N.E.; Palomino Tarazona F.I.; Córdova García U. · Revista de Ciencias Sociales (2025) · DOI: 10.31876/rcs.v31i3.44310

Resumen

Gratitude is recognized as a psychological practice that promotes well-being and emotional health. Recent studies highlight its potential to strengthen positive indicators in healthy individuals. Therefore, the available evidence on its effectiveness in this population was analyzed. The literature was reviewed following PRISMA guidelines in databases such as Google Scholar and PUBMED, using terms such as “gratitude intervention,” “quantitative,” “gratitude journal,” and “gratitude letter,” considering publications between 2019 and 2023. The search yielded 97 articles: 57 in Google Scholar and 40 in PUBMED. After evaluating titles and abstracts, 18 articles were selected; of these, 6 met the inclusion and exclusion criteria after a full review. In addition, four additional studies were incorporated by reviewing the bibliography and citations, yielding a total of 10 articles for analysis. The results suggest that gratitude interventions improve psychological well-being and reduce negative symptoms such as depression. However, many studies do not present statistically significant results. In conclusion, gratitude shows promising positive effects, but more scientific evidence is needed to confirm its effectiveness in healthy people. © Licencia de Creative Commons Atribución 4.0 Internacional (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.es

Instituciones: Universidad César Vallejo