Park et al., 2016, Study 2: Writing about distressing life experiences increased self-distancing from stressful event among college students one to six months later
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Summary:
College students were asked to write about their most distressing life experience (“their deepest thoughts and feelings regarding their experience by focusing on their past, present, and future, and their relationships with others”), to think privately about their most distressing life experience, or to write about a nonemotional topic (what they had done since waking that morning) for 15 minutes on three consecutive days. Those in the first condition as compared to the two control conditions showed greater self-distancing from the distressing experience a day, 1-month, and 6-months later, and less emotional reactivity 1- and 6-months later. There was no effect on self-reported physical health symptoms and on number of visits to the university health center.