Focusing on Positive Emotions may Help Coping with Distress: An Expressive Writing Intervention

Year 2023, Volume: 10 Issue: 3, 445 - 468, 30.09.2023

Numan Turan , Işıl Tekin

https://doi.org/10.31682/ayna.1206981

Abstract

Previous studies showed that expressive writing (EW) contributed to writers’ mental and physical health, and that this benefit of EW tended to vary according to the writing instructions. The present study thus examined the benefit of EW for alleviating writers’ distress when the participants were instructed to focus on positive emotions/experiences in their writing (guided group) or instructed to focus on any emotions/experiences (unguided). Although 86 undergraduate students volunteered, 68 of them completed the study (Mage = 20.38; SD = 1.67; female = 60, male = 6, unreported = 2). The participants were randomly assigned to the guided and unguided intervention groups. The participants completed three EW sessions and filled out the questionnaires at each session. There was one week between the sessions. Growth curve modeling was used to test the research hypotheses. There was no difference between the guided and unguided intervention groups at baseline. The participants in the guided group reported a significant decrease in their psychological distress. In addition, the participants’ experience with EW was inversely associated with their psychological distress in both groups. These findings showed that the positive emotion-focused EW was effective in reducing psychological distress, whereas the unguided emotion-focused EW was not significantly associated with psychological distress. Specifically, guided positive emotion-focused EW exercises might be an accessible intervention tool for coping with psychological distress.

Keywords

Expressive writing, emotions, distress, university students

Psikolojik Stresle Baş Etmede Olumlu Duygulara Odaklanma: Dışavurumcu Yazma Müdahalesi

Abstract

Dışavurumcu yazmanın (DY) psikolojik işlev üzerindeki etkisini inceleyen çalışmalar, duyguların yazı ile açılmasının zihinsel ve fiziksel sağlığa fayda sağlayabileceğini göstermiştir. Araştırmada, dışavurumcu yazma uygulamasında katılımcılara herhangi bir yönlendirme yapılmamasının ya da katılımcıların olumlu duygulara yönlendirilmesinin edindikleri fayda ile ilişkili olup olmadığı incelenmiştir. Araştırmaya gönüllü olan katılımcılar, seçkisiz atama yöntemi ile yönlendirilmemiş (duygu odağı belirtilmeyen) ve yönlendirilmiş (olumlu duygu odaklı) iki müdahale grubuna atanmıştır. Katılımcılar, birer hafta aralıklarla üç dışavurumcu yazma uygulamasını tamamlamış, aynı zamanda her bir uygulama seansında yazma deneyimlerini ve psikolojik streslerini ölçen araçları cevaplamıştır. Çalışmaya 86 lisans öğrencisi gönüllü olsa da çoğunluğu kadınlardan oluşan (kadın = 60, erkek = 6) 68 katılımcı (Ortyaş = 20.38; SS = 1.67) çalışmayı tamamlamıştır. Çalışma hipotezlerinin test edilmesinde büyüme eğrisi modeli (growth curve modelling) kullanılmıştır. Çalışmanın sonuçları, yönlendirilmiş ve yönlendirilmemiş gruplar arasında başlangıçta bir fark olmadığını gösterirken uygulama sonucunda yönlendirilmiş grup katılımcılarının psikolojik stres puanlarında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı derecede azalma olduğu görülmüştür. Ek olarak yazma deneyiminin her iki grupta da psikolojik stres ile ters orantılı olduğu gözlenmiştir: Yazma deneyimi puanlarındaki artışın psikolojik stres puanlarındaki düşüş ile ilişkili olduğu gözlenmiştir. Özellikle, yönlendirilmiş olumlu duygu odaklı dışavurumcu yazma uygulamalarının psikolojik stres ile baş etmede erişilebilir bir müdahale aracı olabileceği gözlenmektedir.

Keywords

Dışavurumcu yazma, duygu, stres, üniversite öğrencileri.

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