Escrita expressiva e bem-estar emocional

Abstract

The expression of emotion has been related to physical and psychological quality of life. The present study investigated the effects of expressive writing on the psychological well-being, using Pennebaker’s writing paradigm. Another goal consisted in examining the relation between linguistic style and changes in anxiety and mood. The 94 subjects were randomly assigned to write on 4 consecutives days about either traumatic experiences or plans for the day for. Each participant took part in six individual writing sessions: four on consecutive days, one seven days after the fourth session and the last one, thirty days after the fifth session. Three measures of anxiety and mood was obtained: on the first day before the intervention and on the fifth and sixth session. The control group showed similar results compared with the experimental. In the experimental group, the use of words related to emotions and the narrative in the first person singular was linked to better mood, but not to less anxiety. Results indicate that expressive writing was ineffective for mood and anxiety for most of the participants, although there are characteristics of writing about an emotionally significant topic that influence psychological well-being.