Writing about emotions versus goals: Effects on hostility and medical care utilization moderated by emotional approach coping processes
Authors: Austenfeld, Jennifer L.1; Stanton, Annette L.2
Source: British Journal of Health Psychology, Volume 13, Number 1, February 2008 , pp. 35-38(4)
Publisher: British Psychological Society
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Abstract:
ObjectivesThe study compared emotionally disclosive writing and writing about goals as the `best possible self' to a control condition and evaluated coping through emotional processing (EP) and expression (EE) as moderators of effects at 1-month follow-up. MethodUndergraduates (N=63) were randomly assigned to emotional disclosure (EMO), best possible self (BPS), or a control condition (CTL). Outcomes were hostility, medical visits, depressive symptoms, physical symptoms, and blood pressure. ResultsAt 1 month, hostility decreased in high-EP participants in EMO relative to BPS and decreased in low-EP participants in BPS relative to EMO. Low-EP participants had fewer medical visits in BPS, whereas high-EP participants had more visits in BPS relative to other conditions. ConclusionsBenefits may accrue when the expressive task is matched to the individual's preferred coping strategy.Document Type: Research article
DOI: 10.1348/135910707X250857
Affiliations: 1: University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA 2: University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
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