Gratitude predicts well-being via resilience and social support in emerging adults: a daily diary study

Although previous studies have established a link between daily gratitude and daily well-being, little is known about whether resilience and social support play the mediating role in the predictive effect of daily gratitude on daily well-being. To better understand how gratitude is linked to well-being, the present study adopted a daily diary method to explore the mediating roles. A sample of 153 undergraduates (Mage = 20.27 years, SDage = 1.83 years) completed the daily questionnaire once a day for 21 consecutive days. Multilevel within-subject mediation analyses indicated that daily resilience and daily social support mediated the relationship between daily gratitude and daily well-being. These findings are in line with the broaden-and-build theory, emphasizing the significant mediating roles of resilience and social support in the gratitude – well-being link at the within-person level.