The effect of gratitude and self-encouragement on depression in psychiatric inpatients in Korea

This study aimed to investigate the effect of gratitude and self-encouragement on depression in psychiatric inpatients in South Korea. A cross-sectional and correlational research design was used. The participants were 112 psychiatric inpatients recruited from the psychiatric units of four general hospitals in South Korea. Data were collected using the Korean version of the Gratitude Questionnaire-6, the Self-Encouragement Inventory, and the Korean version of Beck's Depression Inventory II. Data were analyzed using two-stage hierarchical regression analysis. The results showed that emotional self-encouragement (β = −0.43, p = .004) and gratitude (β = −0.22, p = .029) were factors significantly influencing depression. The regression model explained 28.0% of depression. Therefore, it is recommended that mental health nurses provide intervention to psychiatric inpatients to help them foster gratitude and emotional self-encouragement so that they can decrease depression. •Little research has been performed to evaluate depression and its related stressors on psychiatric inpatients.•The current study highlighted the positive effects character strengths have on psychiatric inpatients' depression.•Fostering emotional self-encouragement needs to be first considered to reduce psychiatric inpatients' depression.