Writing about emotions versus goals: Effects on hostility and medical care utilization moderated by emotional approach coping processes

Abstract

The study compared emotionally disclosive writing and writing about goals as the 'best possible self' to a control condition and evaluated coping through emotional processing (EP) and expression (EE) as moderators of effects at 1-month follow-up. Undergraduates (N=63) were randomly assigned to emotional disclosure (EMO), best possible self (BPS), or a control condition (CTL). Outcomes were hostility, medical visits, depressive symptoms, physical symptoms, and blood pressure. At 1 month, hostility decreased in high-EP participants in EMO relative to BPS and decreased in low-EP participants in BPS relative to EMO. Low-EP participants had fewer medical visits in BPS, whereas high-EP participants had more visits in BPS relative to other conditions. Benefits may accrue when the expressive task is matched to the individual's preferred coping strategy.