Abstract
Despite the growing body of research on gratitude, the question of whether sharing a gratitude letter with its intended recipient enhances well-being more than keeping it private remains largely unexplored. This study addressed this gap by comparing the effects of sharing versus not sharing gratitude letters on well-being. Using a 3 x 3 mixed design, 258 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to three groups: sharing their gratitude letter, not sharing the letter, or a control group. Subjective well-being, depression, gratitude, and flourishing were assessed at pretest, posttest, and follow-up (one month later). Contrary to expectations, our findings revealed no significant differences between groups in terms of well-being outcomes. This result could be explained by the majority (31%) of our sample being Hispanic and commuter students, rather than typical residential students. Future research should consider these two issues to establish further confidence in the usefulness of gratitude activities.