The Impact of Written Emotional Disclosure on Cancer Caregivers’ Perceptions of Burden, Stress, and Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Harvey, Jacquelyn; Sanders, Elizabeth A.; Ko, Linda K.; Manusov, Valerie; Yi, Jean C.

doi:10.1080/10410236.2017.1315677

Cited by 24 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…This suggests that the results for the outcome measures cannot be explained by participants not following the writing instructions or failing to engage with the writing tasks as expected. Specifically, consistent with other BFW studies [52,56,57], participants in the BFW group rated their writing sessions as significantly more personal and meaningful than those in the CW group. Second, as in previous findings [43,84,85], the BFW group had a significantly greater increase in positive affect following writing, relative to the CW group.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

“…Participants were instructed to be as objective as possible and to focus on the facts and details of how their time was spent (or will be spent), and not to focus on their emotions. These CW instructions were adapted from the control conditions used in previous trials of therapeutic writing [51,56,64,65].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Compared to EW, BFW has been found to result in less distress and increased positive affect immediately postwriting [51,59]. Results from pilot trials in clinical populations suggest that BFW has benefits with regard to the symptoms of depression [56], anxiety [55], fatigue [58], and the number of cancer-related medical appointments [57]. In addition, positive affect journaling has recently been found to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in general medical patients with elevated anxiety [44].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Web-Based Benefit-Finding Writing for Adults with Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes: Preliminary Randomized Controlled Trial

Crawford¹,

Wilhelm²,

Proudfoot³

2019

JMIR Diabetes

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Background The high prevalence of diabetes distress and subclinical depression in adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T1DM and T2DM, respectively) indicates the need for low-intensity self-help interventions that can be used in a stepped care approach to address some of their psychological needs. However, people with diabetes can be reluctant to engage in mental health care. Benefit-finding writing (BFW) is a brief intervention that involves writing about any positive thoughts and feelings concerning a stressful experience such as an illness, avoiding potential mental health stigma. It has been associated with increases in positive affect and positive growth and has demonstrated promising results in trials in other clinical populations. However, BFW has not been examined in people with diabetes. Objective This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a Web-based BFW intervention for reducing diabetes distress and increasing benefit finding in diabetic adults with T1DM or T2DM compared to a control writing condition. Methods Adults with T1DM or T2DM and diabetes distress were recruited online through the open access Writing for Health program. After completing baseline questionnaires, they were randomly allocated to receive online BFW or an active control condition of online writing about the use of time (CW). Both groups completed 15-minute online writing sessions, once per day, for 3 consecutive days. Online measures were administered at baseline, 1 month, and 3 months postintervention. Participants were also asked to rate their current mood immediately prior to and following each writing session. Results Seventy-two adults with T1DM or T2DM were recruited and randomly allocated to receive BFW (n=24) or CW (n=48). Participants adhered to the BFW regimen. Greater increases in positive affect immediately postwriting were found in the BFW group than in the CW group. However, there were no significant group-by-time interactions (indicating intervention effects) for benefit finding or diabetes distress at either the 1-month or 3-month follow-up. Both the BFW and CW groups demonstrated small, significant decreases in diabetes distress over time. Conclusions BFW was well tolerated by adults with diabetes in this study but did not demonstrate efficacy in improving diabetes distress or benefit finding compared to an active control writing condition. However, due to recruitment difficulties, the study was underpowered and the sample was skewed to individuals with minimal diabetes distress and none to minimal depression and anxiety at baseline. Future research should continue to investigate the efficacy of variants of therapeutic writing for adults with T1DM or T2DM, using larger samples of participants with elevated diabetes distress. Trial Registration Australiand New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12615000241538; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Tria...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Web-Based Benefit-Finding Writing for Adults with Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes: Preliminary Randomized Controlled Trial

Crawford¹,

Wilhelm²,

Proudfoot³

2019

JMIR Diabetes

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“…In the vast majority of studies, the typical protocol requests participants to write expressively about an upsetting topic (e.g., previous trauma) for a prescribed duration of time, most often between 15 and 20 min, on three to five occasions over the period of a week (Frattaroli, 2006). A variety of positive psychological outcomes (e.g., reduced stress and anxiety; Lovell et al, 2016;Harvey et al, 2018) and physical benefits (e.g., immunological, lung function; Warner et al, 2006;O'Cleirigh et al, 2008) have been associated with completing the writing protocol.…”

Section: Wed: History and Applicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Written Emotional Disclosure Can Promote Athletes’ Mental Health and Performance Readiness During the COVID-19 Pandemic

et al. 2020

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The widespread effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have negatively impacted upon many athletes’ mental health and increased reports of depression as well as symptoms of anxiety. Disruptions to training and competition schedules can induce athletes’ emotional distress, while concomitant government-imposed restrictions (e.g., social isolation, quarantines) reduce the availability of athletes’ social and emotional support. Written Emotional Disclosure (WED) has been used extensively in a variety of settings with diverse populations as a means to promote emotional processing. The expressive writing protocol has been used to a limited extent in the context of sport and predominantly in support of athletes’ emotional processing during injury rehabilitation. We propose that WED offers an evidence-based treatment that can promote athletes’ mental health and support their return to competition. Research exploring the efficacy of the expressive writing protocol highlights a number of theoretical models underpinning the positive effects of WED; we outline how each of these potential mechanisms can address the multidimensional complexity of the challenging circumstances arising from the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., loss of earnings, returning to training and competition). Considerations and strategies for using WED to support athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic are presented.

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“…For cancer patients, it refers to expressing their diagnosis and illness-related thoughts and feelings to others (Cozby, 1973). Several studies have indicated that self-disclosure facilitates the construction of a cohesive narrative, helps patients better understand the trauma experience and decreases depressive symptoms (Harvey, Sanders, Ko, Manusov, & Yi, 2018;Lee, Song, Zhu, & Ma, 2017). In addition, emotional disclosure can enhance relationship quality and intimacy, especially for couples (Porter et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A randomized controlled trial of a guided self‐disclosure intervention to facilitate benefit finding in Chinese breast cancer patients: Study protocol

Zhang

Yang

et al. 2019

Journal of Advanced Nursing

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Aim To describe a protocol that examines the feasibility and effectiveness of a face‐to‐face guided self‐disclosure intervention for facilitating benefit finding and other related psychological outcomes for breast cancer patients. Background Benefit finding can promote a positive attitude among patients facing disease. However, limited studies have focused on improving benefit finding among breast cancer patients. Previous research has been based on group interventions, which may not suit all patients. Self‐disclosure was recognized as a strong predictor of benefit finding. This protocol is based on a brief face‐to‐face disclosure intervention to improve benefit finding for breast cancer patients. Design A non‐blinded randomized controlled trial. Methods A total of 154 patients with breast cancer who have undergone radical mastectomy will be randomly assigned to either the experimental group, which will participate in a six‐session face‐to‐face individual intervention, or the control group at a ratio of 1:1. Baseline assessments will take place after the breast cancer diagnosis, with follow‐up assessments at 3, 6 and 9 months after baseline. The primary outcome is benefit finding; other outcomes are self‐disclosure, cognitive reappraisal, social support, optimism and medical coping modes. Discussion This study is to design a protocol for guided self‐disclosure interventions to promote benefit finding in Chinese breast cancer patients. If this intervention is feasible and effective, it could be implemented in clinical practice. Impact This study will provide useful advice for health professionals to guide breast cancer patients in benefit finding during stressful events. If it is effective, it will be implemented broadly in clinical practice.

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The Impact of Written Emotional Disclosure on Cancer Caregivers’ Perceptions of Burden, Stress, and Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Cited by 24 publications

References 59 publications

Web-Based Benefit-Finding Writing for Adults with Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes: Preliminary Randomized Controlled Trial

Web-Based Benefit-Finding Writing for Adults with Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes: Preliminary Randomized Controlled Trial

Written Emotional Disclosure Can Promote Athletes’ Mental Health and Performance Readiness During the COVID-19 Pandemic

A randomized controlled trial of a guided self‐disclosure intervention to facilitate benefit finding in Chinese breast cancer patients: Study protocol

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