Abstract
A research synthesis was conducted to examine the relationship between a written emotional expression task and subsequent health. This writing task was found to lead to significantly improved health outcomes in healthy participants. Health was enhanced in 4 outcome types - reported physical health, psychological well-being, physiological functioning, and general functioning - but health behaviors were not influenced. Writing also increased immediate (pre- to postwriting) distress, which was unrelated to health outcomes. The relation between written emotional expression and health was moderated by a number of variables, including the use of college students as participants, gender, duration of the manipulation, publication status of the study, and specific writing content instructions.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 174-184 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Journal of consulting and clinical psychology |
Volume | 66 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 1998 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health