Three Good Things and Family Process

There is a need for adaptive and affordable prevention/intervention strategies to promote happiness, health, and well-being in families. Three Good Things (3GT) is a free exercise from the field of positive psychology meant to shift an individual’s focus and perceptions towards gratitude. 3GT promotes focusing on gratitude by reflecting on what an individual is grateful for from the past day/week. Persons are encouraged to write down and share their 3GT with another individual. A mindset of gratitude is closely associated with improved happiness, health, and well-being. The exercise of reflecting on 3GT is adaptive to most individuals/families. To date, most studies using the 3GT intervention have focused on individuals, leaving a gap in the literature for family process. This one-time, cross-sectional qualitative study (n = 89) examined how families experienced the 3GT intervention, together. Researchers conducted a systematic qualitative thematic analysis to determine prominent themes and supportive quotes. Findings from this study may be used to inform educators, clinicians and individuals who work with families on strategies to promote overall family happiness, health, and well-being.