Respiratory sinus arrhythmia predicts written disclosure outcome
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2026
Conducting Respiratory Oscillometry in an Outpatient Setting
Published on: April 8, 2022
Denise M Sloan1, Eva M Epstein
1Department of Psychology, Weiss Hall, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122, USA. dsloan@temple.edu
Abstract:
Research has indicated that writing about traumatic experiences is associated with beneficial health effects compared with writing about emotionally neutral topics. What remains unclear are those factors that moderate the beneficial effects associated with written disclosure. This study examined respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) as a moderator of written disclosure outcome. Findings indicated that individuals with the highest RSA during the first written disclosure session benefited most from written disclosure in terms of physical health complaints and depression symptoms. As expected, RSA did not impact outcome for participants assigned to a control condition. These findings indicate that individuals who display good emotion regulation skills are best served by written disclosure.
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