A randomized controlled trial of emotionally expressive writing for women with metastatic breast cancer.

Abstract

Objective To test the effects of emotionally expressive writing in a randomized controlled trial of metastatic breast cancer patients and to determine whether effects of the intervention varied as a function of perceived social support or time since metastatic diagnosis. Design Women (N = 62) living with Stage IV breast cancer were randomly assigned to write about cancer-related emotions (EMO; n = 31) or the facts of their diagnosis and treatment (CTL; n = 31). Participants wrote at home for four 20-min sessions within a 3-week interval. Main Outcome Measures Depressive symptoms, cancer-related intrusive thoughts, somatic symptoms, and sleep quality at 3 months postintervention. Results No significant main effects of experimental condition were observed. A significant condition × social support interaction emerged on intrusive thoughts; EMO writing was associated with reduced intrusive thoughts for women reporting low emotional support (η2 = .15). Significant condition × time since metastatic diagnosis interactions were also observed for somatic symptoms and sleep disturbances. Relative to CTL, EMO participants who were more recently diagnosed had fewer somatic symptoms (η2 = .10), whereas EMO participants with longer diagnosis duration exhibited increases in sleep disturbances (η2 = .09). Conclusion Although there was no main effect of expressive writing on health among the current metastatic breast cancer sample, expressive writing may be beneficial for a subset of metastatic patients (including women with low levels of emotional support or who have been recently diagnosed) and contraindicated for others (i.e., those who have been living with the diagnosis for years).

Acupoint stimulation, massage therapy and expressive writing for breast cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

“…46,48 One study did not specify the kind of neutral writing. 47 Other studies did not subject the control group to any writing intervention. 42, [44][45] Only one of the 7 included studies reported no adverse events, 44 and the rest did not mention a report on adverse events.…”

“…Two studies compared expressive writing and no writing, [44][45] four RCTs compared expressive writing and neutral writing, 43,[46][47][48] and one studies compared three expressive writing groups to a no writing group. 42 Most studies subjected patients to four 20-min sessions for four consecutive days, 42,44 over a 7-d period, 43 over a 3-wk period, 47 or over 4 to 7 wk. 48 One study subjected the patients to four 20-min sessions and did not specify a time frame.…”

“…45 Expressive writing and anxiety, depression and fatigue. Out of the seven expressive writing studies, six evaluated the impact between expressive writing and neutral writing 43,[46][47][48] or no writing on anxiety, depression and fatigue. [44][45] Using POMS, two studies evaluated the impact of expressive writing on anxiety, depression and fatigue, with a pooled analysis that favors expressive writing and resulted in not significant and heterogeneity ( Figure 4B; MD = -2.26, 95% CI = -5.75 to 1.23, I 2 = 0%).…”

Verhalen verhalen

“…In de controlegroep schrijft de deelnemer over wat hij/zij vandaag gaat doen. 30 De publicatie van deze studie kreeg een vervolg in zo'n tien jaar research bij verschillende populaties respondenten, in verschillende settings, en met verschillende uitkomstmaten. In een recent overzicht concluderen de auteurs dat 'expressive writing' positieve effecten heeft op medische consumptie, werkhervatting, kwaliteit van leven en psychologisch welzijn.…”

Development and Effectiveness of Expressive Writing Program for Women with Breast Cancer in Korea

“…(Laccetti, 2007;Low, Stanton, Bower, & Gyllenhammer, 2010;Rosenberg et al, 2002;Stanton et al, 2002). …”