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Accelerating the coping process.

J W Pennebaker1, M Colder, L K Sharp

  • 1Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas 75275.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|March 1, 1990
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Writing about college transition experiences improved freshmen

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Health Psychology
  • Educational Psychology

Background:

  • Transitioning to college can be a significant source of stress for freshmen.
  • Previous research suggests expressive writing may positively impact health.
  • Understanding the effects of writing interventions during this critical period is important.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of expressive writing on college freshmen's health and academic outcomes.
  • To determine if the timing of writing interventions influences their effectiveness.
  • To explore the relationship between writing, objective health indicators, and self-reported distress.

Main Methods:

  • 130 freshmen were assigned to write about college transition or superficial topics for 20 minutes over 3 days.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Writing occurred at different time points: 1st, 5th, 9th, or 14th week of classes.
  • Health was assessed via physician visits; psychological state via self-reports of homesickness and anxiety; academic performance via grade average.

    • Main Results:

    • Experimental group showed fewer physician visits for illness post-writing compared to controls.
    • Higher self-reported homesickness and anxiety were observed in the experimental group 2-3 months after writing.
    • By year's end, academic performance and positive mood were similar or superior in the experimental group.

    Conclusions:

    • Expressive writing about college transition appears to benefit freshmen's objective health and academic outcomes.
    • The timing of the writing intervention did not significantly affect outcomes, suggesting a potentially accelerated coping process.
    • Findings highlight the importance of considering both objective and self-report measures when evaluating psychological interventions.