Written Emotional Expression Produces Health Benefits in Fibromyalgia Patients

Dados Bibliográficos

ID19306285
AutoresJoan E Broderick (0000-0003-1752-0910, Stony Brook University, autor correspondente), Doerte U Junghaenel (0000-0002-7733-571X), J E Schwartz (0000-0002-8944-3566)
Ano2005
Volume67
Fascículo2
Páginas326-334
Data de publicação2005-03-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoPsychosomatic Medicine (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0033-3174 • E-ISSN: 1534-7796
EditoraOvid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1097/01.psy.0000156933.04566.bd
PMID15784801
OpenAlexW2016631021
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas20
Referências citadas60

Objective: Written expression of traumatic experiences, an intervention found to have health benefits in rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, and breast cancer, was tested in a randomized, controlled trial with female fibromyalgia patients. It was hypothesized that relative to controls, patients engaging in the writing intervention would experience improved status on psychological well-being and physical health variables. Methods: Patients (N = 92) were randomized into a trauma writing group, a control writing group, or usual care control group. The two writing groups wrote in the laboratory for 20 minutes on 3 days at 1-week intervals. Psychological well-being, pain, and fatigue were the primary outcome variables. Assessments were made at pretreatment, posttreatment, 4-month follow-up, and 10-month follow-up. Results: The trauma writing group experienced significant reductions in pain (effect size [ES] = 0.49) and fatigue (ES = 0.62) and better psychological well-being (ES = 0.47) at the 4-month follow-up relative to the control groups. Benefits were not maintained at the 10-month follow-up. Conclusion: Fibromyalgia patients experienced short-term benefits in psychological and health variables through emotional expression of personal traumatic experiences. ED = written emotional disclosure; RA = rheumatoid arthritis; QOL = Quality of Life Scale; STAI-S = state version, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; BDI = Beck Depression Inventory; MOS = Medical Outcome Study; CLINHAQ = Clinical Health Assessment Questionnaire; FIQ = Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire; VAS = visual analogue scale; NW = neutral writing group; UC = usual-care control group; ANOVA = analysis of variance; ES = effect size

Cognitive psychology · Emotional expression · Expression (computer science) · Fibromyalgia · Psychiatry · Computer Science · Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Research · Medicine · Mental Health via Writing · Psychology · Writing and Handwriting Education