Comparing Targets of Expressive Writing

NCT06130020 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 15734
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 160
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Expressive writing involves writing about one's deepest thoughts and feelings surrounding an emotional event. The current literature on the efficacy of expressive writing is mixed and warrants further investigation into how, when, and for whom expressive writing is an effective intervention. The goal of this study is to compare the efficacy of expressive writing interventions in young adults when people imagine that they're writing to themselves vs. a loved one. Participants will carry out an expressive writing exercise for 14 consecutive days. Participants are randomized into 3 groups: Self, Other, and Control. The Self group is instructed to write as if they were talking to themselves. The Other group is instructed to direct their writing to someone they feel close to. The Control group is asked to write down a factual description of their routine that day, and direct this writing to themselves. We will recruit participants until we have usable data from 53 participants per group (i.e., 159 in total).

Conditions

Healthy; Anxiety; Depression

Keywords

expressive writing; journaling; mental health

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Anxiety

  Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7). Scores range from 0-21, with higher scores indicating more severe anxiety.

  Initial visit (day 1), mid-point (day 7) final visit (day 15), 1-month follow-up (1 month after day 14)

• Depression

  Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8). Scores range from 0-24, with higher scores indicating more severe depression.

  Initial visit (day 1), mid-point (day 7), final visit (day 15), 1-month follow-up (1 month after day 14)

Other Outcomes (10)

• Sleep Quality

  Initial visit (day 1), final visit (day 15), 1-month follow-up (1 month after day 14)

• Depression, Anxiety, and Stress

  Initial visit (day 1), final visit (day 15), 1-month follow-up (1 month after day 14)

• Alexithymia (TAS)

  Initial visit (day 1), final visit (day 15), 1-month follow-up (1 month after day 14)

Study Arms (3)

Self

EXPERIMENTAL

The Self group is instructed to carry out the expressive writing exercise as if they were writing to themselves.

Behavioral: Expressive Writing: Self

Other

EXPERIMENTAL

The Other group is instructed to carry out the expressive writing exercise as if they were writing to someone they feel close to.

Behavioral: Expressive Writing: Other

Control

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

The Control group is asked to write down a factual description of their routine that day, as if they were writing to themselves.

Behavioral: Factual Writing

Interventions

Expressive Writing: Self BEHAVIORAL

This intervention consists of a daily expressive writing exercise carried out for 14 consecutive days, for 15 minutes each day. Expressive writing involves asking participants to write about their deepest thoughts and feelings surrounding an emotional event. Participants in this condition will write as if they are writing to themselves.

Self

Expressive Writing: Other BEHAVIORAL

This intervention consists of a daily expressive writing exercise carried out for 14 consecutive days, for 15 minutes each day. Expressive writing involves asking participants to write about their deepest thoughts and feelings surrounding an emotional event. Participants in this condition will write as if they are writing/talking to someone they're close to.

Other

Factual Writing BEHAVIORAL

This intervention consists of a daily factual writing exercise carried out for 14 consecutive days, for 15 minutes each day. Participants are asked to give a factual description of their day. This is a standard control for Expressive writing studies. Participants in this condition will be asked to direct their writing to themselves.

Control

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 25 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• US-based
• Fluent English
• Combined GAD-7 and PHQ-8 score of ≥ 5

You may not qualify if:

• "Completion" of a writing session requires participants to spend at least 15 minutes on the writing page. We will monitor completion of the daily writing exercise, and will contact participants who miss or spend less than 15 minutes on the exercise. Participants who fail to complete 3 consecutive daily writing sessions will be deemed non-compliant, removed from the study, and paid a prorated amount for the tasks they have completed in the study.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Trustees of Princeton University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Peretsman Scully Hall

Princeton, New Jersey, 08540, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Pennebaker JW, Beall SK. Confronting a traumatic event: toward an understanding of inhibition and disease. J Abnorm Psychol. 1986 Aug;95(3):274-81. doi: 10.1037//0021-843x.95.3.274. No abstract available.

  PMID: 3745650 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Anxiety Disorders; Depression; Psychological Well-Being

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Mental Disorders; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Personal Satisfaction

Study Officials

• Erik Nook, PhD

  Princeton University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 6, 2023
• First Posted: November 13, 2023
• Study Start: November 10, 2023
• Primary Completion: October 30, 2025
• Study Completion: October 30, 2025
• Last Updated: February 23, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: SAP, ANALYTIC CODE
• Time Frame: Beginning after publication of results with no end date.
• Access Criteria: A subset of the de-identified data will be publicly available on the OSF.

Locations

US (1)