Abstract
Introduction
Expressive writing is a promising tool to promote physical and emotional health. This meta-analysis took the initiative to examine the effects of expressive writing on quality of life relevant outcomes among Asian populations.
Method
To determine the long-term effects, the literature search identified 11 experimental studies with randomized controlled trials and follow-up assessments. The final analysis included 38 reported effect sizes and a total of 1188 participants.
Results
The results suggested that for the current sample, there were no significant group differences between expressive writing and control conditions at the first follow-up assessment, g = 0.05 (p = 0.53), nor at the second follow-up assessment, g = 0.04 (p = 0.73). Change score analyses showed non-significant changes from baseline to first follow-up, g = 0.01 (p = 0.78) and from baseline to second follow-up, g = 0.04 (p = 0.55). In addition, moderator analyses did not detect substantial moderators pertaining to participant characteristics (physical health, immigration status) or intervention features (topic focus, prompt structure, time lapse of events).
Discussion
Taken together, these findings indicate that to optimize treatment outcomes for Asian populations, expressive writing interventions need to consider salient concerns in cultural communities and the sociocultural impact on individual tendencies towards emotional processing. Implications for the design of writing interventions are discussed.
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Data Availability
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
References
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Guo, L. Find a Resting Place for Your Emotions and Make it Yours: A Meta-Analysis of Expressive Writing Interventions Among Asian Populations. Cogn Ther Res 47, 936–957 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-023-10417-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-023-10417-1