Insights from an expressive writing intervention on Facebook to help alleviate depressive symptoms

Lee, Sang Won; Kim, Inyeop; Yoo, Jaehyun; Park, Sungkyu; Jeong, Bumseok; Cha, Meeyoung

doi:10.1016/j.chb.2016.04.034

Cited by 27 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…On the other hand, technology use has been developed during the last decade, especially mobile technology. If a mobile version of the e-diary was used in this study, the number and time of logs could be different [33]. Third, e-diary entries were written in Finnish, and they represent the quite homogenous nature of Finnish culture.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Do Adolescents Use Electronic Diaries? A Mixed-Methods Study Among Adolescents With Depressive Symptoms

Metsäranta¹,

Kurki²,

Välimäki³

et al. 2019

J Med Internet Res

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Background Depression in adolescence is common. Less than half of the adolescents with depression receive mental health care; furthermore, treatment tends to be suspended, and its success rates are low. There is a need for these adolescents to have a safe place to share their thoughts. Studies have shown that writing may be a useful treatment method for people with mental health problems. Objective This study aims to describe the use of an electronic diary (e-diary) among adolescents with depressive symptoms. Methods This paper describes a substudy of a randomized controlled trial. We used a mixed-methods approach to understand the way in which e-diaries were used by participants in the intervention under the randomized controlled trial. Data were collected during 2008-2010 at 2 university hospitals in Finland. Study participants (N=89) were 15-17-year-old adolescents who had been referred to an adolescent outpatient psychiatric clinic due to depressive symptoms. Participants were instructed to use the e-diary at least once a week to describe their thoughts, feelings, and moods. The content of the e-diary data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and inductive content analysis. Results Overall, 53% (47/89) of the adolescents used the e-diary. Most of them (39/47, 83%) logged into the program during the first week, and about one-third (19/47, 40%) logged into the e-diary weekly as suggested. The number of words used in the e-diary per each log ranged between 8 and 1442 words. The 3 topics most often written about in the e-diary were related to mental health problems (mental disorder), social interaction (relationship), and one’s own development (identity). Conclusions An e-diary may be a usable tool to reflect experiences and thoughts, especially among adolescents who have signs of depression. The results of this study can be used to develop user-centered electronic health applications that allow users to express their own thoughts and experiences in ways other than systematic mood monitoring.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Do Adolescents Use Electronic Diaries? A Mixed-Methods Study Among Adolescents With Depressive Symptoms

Metsäranta¹,

Kurki²,

Välimäki³

et al. 2019

J Med Internet Res

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“…Several studies into online self-effects based on the writing paradigm have found that expressive blogging leads to higher perceived support (Baker & Moore, 2008), higher subjective well-being (Ko & Kuo, 2009), and higher self-esteem (Schmitt, Dayanim, & Matthias, 2008). In addition, using an expressive writing app in Facebook can alleviate depressive symptoms (Lee et al, 2016). And it has been shown that the beneficial effects of expressive postings are larger on the posters themselves (i.e., self-effects) when compared to the effects of exposure of these posters to others' supportive postings (reception effects; Han et al, 2011).…”

Section: The Expressive Writing Paradigmmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Self-Effects in Social Media

Valkenburg¹

2017

Hum Commun Res

154

123

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The aim of this article is to improve understanding of self‐effects in social media, and to compare self‐effects with reception effects. Self‐effects are the effects of messages the cognitions, emotions, attitudes, and behaviors of the message creators/senders themselves. A total of 4 theories have tried to explain self‐effects in offline environments: self‐persuasion, self‐concept change, expressive writing, and political deliberation. The article reviews research into online self‐effects that evolved from each of these theories, and argues why self‐effects may be stronger online than offline. Based on this review, a model is introduced that helps explain how online self‐ and reception effects may coalesce and amplify each other. The article ends by presenting some suggestions for future research.

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“…Previous research has observed that online emotional writing, about either a positive or a negative topic, was associated with a reduction in perceived stress (Baikie, Geerligs, & Wilhelm, 2012). Further, written emotional disclosure, conducted online, has been associated with posttraumatic growth (Stockton, Joseph, & Hunt, 2014), while emotional expression via an 'Emotion Diary' Facebook application has been associated with a reduction in symptoms of depression (Lee et al, 2016). Taken together, it appears that online therapeutic writing interventions may provide a novel approach for delivering psychological interventions, which may be particularly beneficial for individuals with high levels of social inhibition, for whom engagement with face-to-face therapy proves difficult.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To maintain consistency with Smith and colleagues (2018), the outcome variables of interest were physical symptoms, perceived stress and anxiety. However, given that the efficacy of online therapeutic writing has been demonstrated in the context of reducing depression symptoms (Lee et al, 2016), and that all participants in the present study reported high levels of NA, we additionally incorporated self-reported depression symptoms as an outcome measure. Finally, given that expressive writing has been associated with changes in psychobiological stress reactivity (O'Connor & Ashley, 2008;Smyth et al, 2008), we sought to investigate the influence of online positive emotional writing on perceived reactivity to stressors encountered in the real world.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Online writing about positive life experiences reduces depression and perceived stress reactivity in socially inhibited individuals

Allen

Wetherell

Smith

2020

Psychiatry Research

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Therapeutic writing can enhance psychological and physical health. Recent studies have suggested that these kinds of interventions can be effective when delivered online. The present study investigated whether positive emotional writing online can influence psychological and physical health in individuals reporting high levels of negative affectivity, who are most likely to benefit from psychological intervention (N = 72, Mage = 28.5, SDage = 8.7), and further, to investigate the potential moderating role of social inhibition. Participants completed self-report measures of physical symptoms, perceived stress, perceived stress reactivity, depression and generalised anxiety, before completing either i) positive emotional writing, or ii) a non-emotive control writing task on an online portal, for 20 minutes per day over three consecutive days. State anxiety was measured immediately after each writing session, and self-report questionnaires were again administered four weeks postwriting. Socially inhibited individuals exhibited significant reductions in depression and perceived stress reactivity four weeks following positive emotional writing, relative to writing about a neutral topic. The present study supports the efficacy of online therapeutic writing in individuals who, due to their socially inhibited nature, are most likely to benefit from online interventions which avoid interaction with a therapist or other clients.

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Insights from an expressive writing intervention on Facebook to help alleviate depressive symptoms

Cited by 27 publications

References 30 publications

How Do Adolescents Use Electronic Diaries? A Mixed-Methods Study Among Adolescents With Depressive Symptoms

How Do Adolescents Use Electronic Diaries? A Mixed-Methods Study Among Adolescents With Depressive Symptoms

Understanding Self-Effects in Social Media

Online writing about positive life experiences reduces depression and perceived stress reactivity in socially inhibited individuals

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