State gratitude is associated with lower cardiovascular responses to acute psychological stress: a replication and extension

Positive affect is associated with more adaptive responses to psychological stress. However, few studies have examined the association between gratitude, a specific type of positive affect, with physiological responses to acute psychological stress. The current study aimed to replicate and extend on previous work examining the associations between state and trait gratitude and cardiovascular stress reactivity in 324 (59.9% female, 67.0% Caucasian, 17.9% Hispanic) healthy participants. State gratitude was measured at the beginning of the laboratory session using the Gratitude Adjective Checklist-Three Items. Trait gratitude was measured using the Gratitude Questionnaire-Six Items. Blood pressure and heart rate reactions to an acute mental arithmetic task were measured. In regression models that adjusted for baseline cardiovascular activity, body mass index, sex, depressive symptomology, performance on the acute mental arithmetic task, and state positive affect, state gratitude was associated with lower systolic blood pressure reactivity. There were no associations between trait gratitude and any of the cardiovascular variables. Results support previous work demonstrating that state, but not trait, gratitude is related to cardiovascular stress reactivity. Higher levels of state gratitude immediately preceding a stressful encounter may be protective.