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Written emotional expression: Effect sizes, outcome types, and moderating variables (1998)
| Venue: | Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology |
| Citations: | 147 - 0 self |
BibTeX
@ARTICLE{Smyth98writtenemotional,
author = {Joshua M. Smyth},
title = {Written emotional expression: Effect sizes, outcome types, and moderating variables},
journal = {Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology},
year = {1998},
pages = {174184}
}
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Abstract
A research synthesis was conducted to examine the relationship between a written emotional expres-sion task and subsequent health. This writing task was found to lead to significantly improved health outcomes inhealthy participants. Health was enhanced in4 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. Emotional expression has long been given a central role in the study and practice of psychology. Both historically and recently, psychologists have cited the expression of emotions as vital for good mental and physical health, although the inhibition of emotion was considered eleterious (e.g., Breuer & Freud, 1895/1966; Grinker & Spiegel, 1945; Rachman, 1980; Scheff, 1979). More recently, there has been a growing body of litera-ture suggesting that emotional expression has salutary health
Keyphrases
outcome type written emotional expression emotional expression physical health college student good mental central role research synthesis health outcome inhealthy participant content instruction grinker spiegel psychological well-being health behavior in4 outcome type breuer freud physiological functioning subsequent health publication status general functioning health outcome salutary health emotional expres-sion task
