Abstract
The current study examined the influence of two expressive writing paradigms on student well-being during the college transition. One hundred sixty-one incoming college students participated online at three time points during the fall semester. Between the first and second time points, students were randomly assigned to daily writings in one of three conditions: emotion-disclosing writing (EDW), gratitude-focused writing (GFW), and no writing (control). Growth models showed that students in the EDW condition increased over time in self-disclosure. There were also indirect effects of EDW on increases in positive affect and decreases in depressive symptoms through self-disclosure. Students in the GFW condition increased in life satisfaction over time. Results suggest benefits of both types of expressive writing for college student adjustment. Future research is needed to clarify mechanisms of influence for these distinct writing paradigms.
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