Abstract
The present study explored the effect of expressive writing on the test anxiety of eight law enforcement participants while preparing for their Toronto Police Entrance Test. The intervention took place a month before they were due to take the test instead of the conventional practice of implementing it a few days before the test or even during the actual test. An expressive writing journal was given to them. They were instructed on how to write their thoughts about their test anxiety for 25 min during one supervised session uninterrupted. A Thought Record Questionnaire was also given to them. They were instructed to itemise the causes of their test anxiety and to rank their corresponding intensity before and after their journal writing. They would continue ranking their intensity for the next 4 days. The results revealed that the participants who benefitted the most were those who were able to alleviate their test anxiety for an extended period as indicated on the Thought Record and who were able to adequately offset their adverse thoughts as indicated on their expressive writing journals. The findings from this small-scale mixed methods study showed that it is possible to adopt expressive writing as a tool to self-manage test anxiety during the preparation of a test and not just as a means of alleviating test anxiety during the actual writing of the test on the scheduled date. The findings also showed that it is possible for expressive writing to address stress—including traumatic stress.
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Data Availability
Further data information and analysis of the participants’ journals, interview transcripts, and thought records can be found in the following repository: https://libguides.liverpool.ac.uk/library/.
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All procedures performed in the study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the following institutions: University of Liverpool and the Toronto Police Service. Informed consent was acquired from each participant. The ethics agreement with the Toronto Police Service and the ethics approval from the University of Liverpool can be found in the following repository: https://libguides.liverpool.ac.uk/library/.
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Appendices
Appendix 1. Thought record
Thought record for participant A.
Adverse thoughts | Intensity of mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | ||
Apprehension | 75 | 65 | 65 | 65 | 65 | 65 |
Afraid to change | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 |
Thought record for participant B.
Adverse thoughts | Intensity of mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | ||
Uncertainty | 10 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Procrastination | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 |
Fear of failing again | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
Disappointment | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
Bad concentration | 60 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 60 |
Family distraction | 60 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 60 |
Thought record for participant C.
Adverse thoughts | Intensity of mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | ||
Procrastination | 80 | 70 | 60 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
Fear | 70 | 65 | 50 | 45 | 45 | 45 |
Apprehension | 90 | 85 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 |
Anxiety | 90 | 85 | 45 | 45 | 45 | 45 |
Uncertainty | 80 | 80 | 70 | 75 | 75 | 75 |
Thought record for participant D.
Adverse thoughts | Intensity of mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | ||
Fear | 60 | 55 | 55 | 65 | 75 | 75 |
Apprehension | 40 | 35 | 35 | 50 | 50 | 50 |
Anxiety | 85 | 75 | 75 | 90 | 95 | 95 |
Confidence issues | 80 | 75 | 75 | 90 | 95 | 95 |
Thought record for participant E.
Adverse thoughts | Intensity of mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | ||
Sense of Failure | 75 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 75 |
Lack of knowledge | 50 | 50 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 50 |
Uncertainty | 95 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 95 |
Sense of failure | 95 | 95 | 95 | 90 | 90 | 95 |
Lack of confidence | 95 | 95 | 95 | 90 | 90 | 95 |
Thought record for participant F.
Adverse thoughts | Intensity of mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | ||
Uncertainty | 95 | 85 | 80 | 75 | 75 | 75 |
Fear of failure | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
Thought record for participant G.
Adverse thoughts | Intensity of mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | ||
Uncertainty | 50 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
Thought record for participant H.
Adverse thoughts | Intensity of mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % | Re-rank mood as a % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | ||
Fear | 50 | 40 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
Cost | 50 | 40 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
Lack of motivation | 50 | 40 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
Confidence | 50 | 45 | 45 | 45 | 45 | 45 |
Lack of sleep | 25 | 15 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
Lack of exercise | 25 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
Appendix 2. Total offsetting statements and negative statements
Total offsetting statements and negative statements in expressive writing journals.
Offsetting statements from journal | Subject A | Subject B | Subject C | Subject D | Subject E | Subject F | Subject G | Subject H |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Positive statements | 5 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | |
Positive attributions | 8 | 3 | 2 | |||||
Need for improvement | 2 | 2 | 2 | |||||
Realisation of strength | 1 | 2 | 2 | |||||
Strategy statements | 5 | 1 | ||||||
Total offsetting statements | 16 | 0 | 17 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 11 |
Negative statements from journal | 5 | 4 | 7 | 47 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 1 |
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Yee, J.W., Dimitriadi, Y. & Outhwaite, D. The Application of Expressive Writing as an Intervention for Test Anxiety Illustrated with the Toronto Police Exams. J Police Crim Psych (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-024-09651-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-024-09651-4