# Gratitude practice helps undergraduates who experienced an earthquake in China find meaning in life

## TL;DR

Practicing gratitude helped Chinese undergraduates affected by an earthquake find meaning in life through increased learning engagement.

## Contribution

The study demonstrates gratitude's role in fostering meaning in life through learning engagement after traumatic events.

## Key findings

- Gratitude significantly predicted meaning in life through learning engagement over time.
- Learning engagement mediated the relationship between gratitude and meaning in life.
- The findings suggest gratitude interventions can aid personal growth after traumatic events.

## Abstract

This study was conducted following a magnitude 6.8 earthquake that occurred in early September 2022, coinciding with the commencement of a positive psychology course for the affected students. A sample of 479 Chinese undergraduates was recruited for an intervention focused on weekly gratitude practice. Data were collected through an online questionnaire package at 3 time points: the first week of the course (Time 1), the fifth week (Time 2), and the ninth week (Time 3), assessing gratitude, learning engagement, and the meaning of life. Findings revealed that gratitude significantly predicted meaning in life through learning engagement over time. This highlights the significant mediating role of learning engagement in the context of earthquakes and provides insights for positive interventions aimed at facilitating personal growth among emerging adults in higher educational settings, particularly those who have experienced traumatic events such as earthquakes.