Rereading Emotional Disclosures: Does rereading prior emotional writings enhance the health benefits of self-disclosure, and for whom?

Abstract

Despite numerous investigations into the possible benefits of structured written disclosure, the underlying mechanisms responsible for these effects are not yet fully understood. Given the increasing evidence suggesting a joint role for emotional expression and cognitive processing one possibility is that rereading disclosures could potentially enhance these processes and provide further beneficial outcomes. The present study contrasted the effects of rereading previously written disclosures with those obtained from expressive writing alone. Of additional interest was whether rereading could assist individuals with a dispositional externally oriented thinking style derive benefits from written disclosure. One hundred and fifty volunteers recruited from around New Zealand were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: expressive writing with rereading (RR), expressive writing only (EW) and a time management control (Control). Participants wrote online for 15 minutes on three consecutive days about a stressful life event. Intrusive and avoidance ideation, depression, anxiety, stress and physical symptoms were assessed at baseline and one and two months post study. Repeated measures ANOVAs indicated that overall, all three groups reported reductions in intrusive thoughts, avoidance and physical symptoms, but no changes in depression, anxiety or stress were evident. Furthermore, the presence of an externally oriented thinking style was found to moderate intrusive thoughts and avoidance of distressing event-related emotions. As expected, fewer intrusive thoughts and avoidance symptoms were reported by participants with a high externally oriented thinking style in the rereading group. Secondary analyses revealed differences in cognitive and emotional processing of stressful events as indexed by differences in the language used between the rereading and expressive writing groups. Consistent with expectations, participants with a high externally oriented thinking style used more words indicative of cognitive processing, but only if assigned to the rereading group. Overall, findings from the present study suggest that rereading emotional disclosures can enhance cognitive processing of stressful experiences, in terms of outcomes and language used, but only for individuals with a dispositional externally oriented thinking style.