Effectiveness of gratitude disposition promotion program on depression and quality of life of chronic schizophrenic patients

CONTEXT Gratitude intervention is expectedly an effective intervention to reduce depression and improve the quality of life in schizophrenic patients, but there is a lack of literature on it. AIMS We attempted to develop and test the effectiveness of the gratitude disposition promotion program for chronic schizophrenic patients in Korea. SETTINGS AND DESIGN Nonequivalent control group pre- and post-test design was used in two mental health centers located at Gyeonggi-do in South Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS This paper was a quasi-experimental study and the participants who took part in the gratitude disposition promotion program were 17 of experimental group and 15 of control group. Gratitude disposition (the short gratitude, resentment, and appreciation test), depression (Beck Depression Inventory), and quality of life (developed by Kook) of chronic schizophrenic patients were measured before and after an intervention, as compared to the control. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and t-test were performed for prehomogeneity testing for variables related to the general characteristics. Testing for the effectiveness of gratitude disposition promotion program and hypothesis testing for its effect on depression and quality of life were by ANCOVA and t-test, as verified to significance level of P < 0.05. RESULTS The participants who received the gratitude disposition promotion program showed significant improvements in gratitude disposition (F = 18.740, P < 0.0001) and in quality of life (F = 9.800, P = 0.004), but no significant difference in depression (F = 3.870, P = 0.059). CONCLUSIONS The gratitude disposition promotion program was an effective clinical intervention program for enhancing gratitude disposition and quality of life of chronic schizophrenic patients in community.