Randomized controlled trial of expressive writing for psychological and physical health: the moderating role of emotional expressivity.
Niles AN, Haltom KE, Mulvenna CM, Lieberman MD, Stanton AL
Anxiety, stress, and coping · January 1, 2014
Young adult participants (N=116) were randomly assigned to write for 20 minutes on four occasions about deepest thoughts and feelings regarding their most stressful/traumatic event in the past five years (expressive writing) or about a control topic. No significant effects of writing condition were evident on anxiety, depressive symptoms, or physical symptoms. Within the expressive writing group, participants high in expressiveness evidenced a significant reduction in anxiety at three-month follow-up, and participants low in expressiveness showed a significant increase in anxiety. These findings suggest that expressive writing about a stressful event may be contraindicated for individuals who do not typically express emotions.
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PMID: 23742666 · DOI: 10.1080/10615806.2013.802308
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