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

Yıl 2023, Cilt: 10 Sayı: 3, 445 - 468, 30.09.2023

Numan Turan , Işıl Tekin

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

Öz

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.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Expressive writing, emotions, distress, university students

Psikolojik Stresle Baş Etmede Olumlu Duygulara Odaklanma: Dışavurumcu Yazma Müdahalesi

Öz

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.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Dışavurumcu yazma, duygu, stres, üniversite öğrencileri.

Kaynakça

• Acar, D. ve Dirik, G. (2018). Yazılı duygusal dışavurum paradigması: Kanser hastalarının eşlerinde travma sonrası stres belirtileri ve travma sonrası gelişim üzerindeki etkileri. Klinik Psikiyatri Dergisi, 21(2), 154-167. https://doi.org/10.5505/kpd.2018.48343
• Acar, D. ve Dirik, G. (2019). Güncel bir paradigma: Yazılı duygusal dışavurum. Psikiyatride Güncel Yaklaşımlar - Current Approaches in Psychiatry, 11(1), 24-38. https://doi.org/10.18863/pgy.364852
• Altundağ, Y. , Kılıç, Z. H. ve Biçer, O. (2021). Üniversite öğrencilerinde psikolojik yardım almaya ilişkin tutumun ve psikolojik yardım alma niyetinin çeşitli değişkenlere göre incelenmesi. Elektronik Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 20(80), 1933-1950. https://doi.org/10.17755/esosder.887942
• American College Health Association. (2018). American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment II: Reference group executive summary fall 2017. American College Health Association.
• Arnett, J. J. (2014). Emerging adulthood: The winding road from the late teens through the twenties. Oxford University Press.
• Atak, M. (2022). Pandemi öncesinde üniversite öğrencilerinin ruh sağlığı ile ilişkili faktörler. İbn Haldun Çalışmaları Dergisi, 7(1), 55-67. https://doi.org/10.36657/ihcd.2022.88
• Baikie, K. A., Geerligs, L., & Wilhelm, K. (2012). Expressive writing and positive writing for participants with mood disorders: An online randomized controlled trial. Journal of Affective Disorders, 136(3), 310-319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2011.11.032
• Baikie, K. A. ve Wilhelm, K. (2005). Emotional and physical health benefits of expressive writing. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 11(5), 338-346. https://doi.org/10.1192/apt.11.5.338
• Bıçak, B. ve Erdur Baker, Ö. (2006). Üniversite öğrencilerinin psikolojik sorunları. Abant İzzet Baysal Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 6(2), 54-66.
• Bilgin, A. (1998). Danışma sürecinde danışmadan ve danışmandan beklentiler. Uludağ Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 11(1), 147-155.
• Booker, J. A. ve Dunsmore, J. C. (2017). Expressive writing and well-being during the transition to college: Comparison of emotion-disclosing and gratitude-focused writing. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 36(7), 580-606. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2017.36.7.580
• Brody, L. R. ve Park, S. H. (2004). Narratives, mindfulness, and the implicit audience. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 11(2), 147-154. https://doi.org/10.1093/clipsy/bph065
• Burton, C. M. ve King, L. A. (2004). The health benefits of writing about intensely positive experiences. Journal of Research in Personality, 38(2), 150-163. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0092-6566(03)00058-8
• Cayubit, R. F. O. (2021). Effect of expressive writing on the subjective well-being of university students. Makara Human Behavior Studies in Asia, 25(1), 71-79. https://doi.org/10.7454/hubs.asia.1130520
• Cheung, R. Y. M., Chung, H. S. ve Ng, M. C. Y. (2021). Expressive writing and well-being in chinese emerging adults: Is emotion regulation an underlying mechanism? Emerging Adulthood, 9(6), 679-689. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167696818824719
• Curran, P. J., Obeidat, K. ve Losardo, D. (2010). Twelve frequently asked questions about growth curve modeling. Journal of Cognition and Development, 11(2), 121-136. https://doi.org/10.1080/15248371003699969
• Çam, O. ve Bilge, A. (2013). Türkiye’de ruhsal hastalığa/hastaya yönelik inanç, tutum ve damgalama süreci: Sistematik derleme. Psikiyatri Hemşireliği Dergisi, 4(2), 91-101. https://doi.org/10.5505/phd.2013.92300
• Demirci, İ. ve Ekşi, H. (2018, 28 Haziran ,1 Temmuz). Don’t bother your pretty little head otherwise you can’t enjoy life [Konferans sunumu]. ERPA International Congresses on Education, İstanbul, Türkiye.
• Frattaroli, J. (2006). Experimental disclosure and its moderators: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(6), 823–865. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.132.6.823
• Gortner, E. M., Rude, S. S. ve Pennebaker, J. W. (2006). Benefits of expressive writing in lowering rumination and depressive symptoms. Behavior Therapy, 37(3), 292–303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2006.01.004
• Gökkaya, F., Yurdalan, F., Karagülmez, K. ve Kubilay, E. M. E. Ç. (2021). Psikoterapilerin etkililiğini belirleyen faktörlerin incelenmesi: Bir derleme çalışması. AYNA Klinik Psikoloji Dergisi, 8(3), 396-423. https://doi.org/10.31682/ayna.921699
• Grysman, A. (2015). Collecting narrative data on Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 29(4), 573–583. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.3140
• Gültekin, F. ve Acar, N. V. (2004). Transaksiyonel analizin Türk kültürüne uygulanabilirliği: Kültür açısından eleştirel bakış. Eğitim ve Bilim, 29(133), 28-38.
• Gürsoy, O. ve Gizir, C. A. (2018). Üniversite öğrencilerinin psikolojik yardım almaya yönelik tutumları: Sosyal damgalanma, kendini damgalama, öznel sıkıntıları açma, benlik saygısı ve cinsiyetin rolü. Turkish Psychological Counseling and Guidance Journal, 8(49), 137-155.
• Hockemeyer, J. R., Smyth, J. M., Anderson, C. F. ve Stone, A. A. (1999). Is it safe to write? Evaluating the short-term distress produced by writing about emotionally traumatic experiences. Psychosomatic Medicine, 61(1), 99. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-199901000-00089
• Jones, B. K. ve Destin, M. (2021). Effects of positive versus negative expressive writing exercises on adolescent academic achievement. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 51(6), 549-559. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12756
• Karataş, A. ve Gizir, C. A. (2013). Üniversite öğrencilerinin psikolojik danışma gereksinimlerinin çeşitli değişkenler açısından incelenmesi. Hacettepe Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 28(3), 250-265.
• Kızıldağ, S., Demirtaş Zorbaz, S., Gençtanırım, D. ve Arıcı, F. (2013). Hacettepe Üniversitesi öğrencilerinin psikolojik danışma yardımı almaya ve bu yardımın sunulduğu birimlere ilişkin görüşleri. Mersin Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 8(3), 185-196.
• King, L. A. (2001). The health benefits of writing about life goals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27(7), 798-807. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167201277003
• King, L. A. ve Miner, K. N. (2000). Writing about the perceived benefits of traumatic events: Implications for physical health. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26(2), 220-230. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167200264008
• Kroenke, K., Spitzer, R. L., Williams, J. B. W. ve Löwe, B. (2009). An ultra-brief screening scale for anxiety and depression: The PHQ–4. Psychosomatics, 50(6), 613-621. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0033-3182(09)70864-3
• Larson, D. G. ve Chastain, R. L. (1990). Self-concealment: Conceptualization, measurement, and health implications. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 9(4), 439-455. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.1990.9.4.439
• Lepore, S. J. (1997). Expressive writing moderates the relation between intrusive thoughts and depressive symptoms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(5), 1030-1037. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.73.5.1030
• Lu, Q. ve Stanton, A. L. (2010). How benefits of expressive writing vary as a function of writing instructions, ethnicity and ambivalence over emotional expression. Psychology and Health, 25(6), 669-684. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870440902883196
• Lynch, L., Long, M. ve Moorhead, A. (2018). Young men, help-seeking, and mental health services: exploring barriers and solutions. American Journal Of Men’s Health, 12(1), 138-149. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988315619469
• Lyubomirsky, S., Sousa, L. ve Dickerhoof, R. (2006). The costs and benefits of writing, talking, and thinking about life’s triumphs and defeats. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90(4), 692-708. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.90.4.692
• Mackenzie, C. S., Wiprzycka, U. J., Hasher, L. ve Goldstein, D. (2008). Seeing the glass half full: Optimistic expressive writing improves mental health among chronically stressed caregivers. British Journal of Health Psychology, 13(1), 73-76. https://doi.org/10.1348/135910707X251153
• Marlo, H. ve Wagner, M. K. (1999). Expression of negative and positive events through writing: Implications for psychotherapy and health. Psychology and Health, 14(2), 193-215. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870449908407323
• Masuda, A., Wendell, J. W., Chou, Y.-Y., ve Feinstein, A. B. (2010). Relationships among self-concealment, mindfulness and negative psychological outcomes in Asian American and European American college students. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 32(3), 165-177. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-010-9097-x
• Mirman, D. (2014). Growth curve analysis : A hands-on tutorial on using multilevel regression to analyze time course data. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of Cognitive Science Society, 36, 51–52.
• Mocan-Aydin, G. (2000). Western models of counseling and psychotherapy within Turkey: Crossing cultural boundaries. The Counseling Psychologist, 28(2), 281-298. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000000282
• Nicholls, S. (2009). Beyond expressive writing: Evolving models of developmental creative writing. Journal of Health Psychology, 14(2), 171-180. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105308100201
• Oishi, A. (2023). Positive expressive writing as a stress management strategy for Japanese students: Willingness to engage in expressive writing. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 18(2), 164-177. https://doi.org/10.1080/15401383.2021.1963902
• Özel, Y., Türkleş, S. ve Erdoğan, S. (2020). Üniversite öğrencilerinde ruhsal durumun incelenmesi. JAREN, 6(2), 220-228. https://doi.org/10.5222/jaren.2020.41033
• Pennebaker, J. W. (1985). Traumatic experience and psychosomatic disease: Exploring the roles of behavioural inhibition, obsession, and confiding. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne, 26(2), 82-95. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0080025
• Pennebaker, J. W. (1997). Writing about emotional experiences as a therapeutic process. Psychological Science, 8(3), 162-166. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.1997.tb00403.x
• Pennebaker, J. W. ve Beall, S. K. (1986). Confronting a traumatic event. toward an understanding of inhibition and disease. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95(3), 274-281. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.95.3.274
• Pennebaker, J. W. ve Seagal, J. D. (1999). Forming a story: The health benefits of narrative. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 55(10), 1243-1254. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-4679(199910)55:10<1243::AID-JCLP6>3.0.CO;2-N
• Poon, A. ve Danoff-Burg, S. (2011). Mindfulness as a moderator in expressive writing. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 67(9), 881-895. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20810
• Poyrazlı, S. (2003). Validity of rogerian therapy in Turkish culture: A cross‐cultural perspective. The Journal of Humanistic Counseling, Education and Development, 42(1), 107-115. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2164-490X.2003.tb00172.x
• Price, M., Yuen, E. K., Goetter, E. M., Herbert, J. D., Forman, E. M., Acierno, R. ve Ruggiero, K. J. (2014). mHealth: A mechanism to deliver more accessible, more effective mental health care. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 21(5), 427-436. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.1855
• Reinhold, M., Bürkner, P. C. ve Holling, H. (2018). Effects of expressive writing on depressive symptoms—A meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 25(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1111/cpsp.12224
• Rosseel, Y. (2022). The lavaan tutorial. lavaan. https://lavaan.ugent.be/tutorial/tutorial.pdf
• Sarı, E. ve Uyumaz, G. (2020). Çözüm odaklı yönlendirilmiş betimlemenin depresyon, anksiyete ve stres üzerindeki etkileri. AYNA Klinik Psikoloji Dergisi, 7(3), 368-388. https://doi.org/10.31682/ayna.711553
• Savi Çakar, F. ve Kılınç, Y. D. D. M. (2020). Ergenlerin psikolojik yardım ihtiyaçlarının incelenmesi. Mehmet Akif Ersoy Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, (54), 488-508.
• Seih, Y. T., Chung, C. K. ve Pennebaker, J. W. (2011). Experimental manipulations of perspective taking and perspective switching in expressive writing. Cognition and Emotion, 25(5), 926-938. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2010.512123
• Sloan, D. M. ve Marx, B. P. (2004). A closer examination of the structured written disclosure procedure. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72(2), 165-175. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.72.2.165
• Sloan, D. M., Marx, B. P. ve Epstein, E. M. (2005). Further examination of the exposure model underlying the efficacy of written emotional disclosure. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73(3), 549-554. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.73.3.549
• Sloan, D. M., Marx, B. P., Epstein, E. M. ve Dobbs, J. L. (2008). Expressive writing buffers against maladaptive rumination. Emotion, 8(2), 302-306. https://doi.org/10.1037/1528-3542.8.2.302
• Smyth, J. M. (1998). Written emotional expression: Effect sizes, outcome types, and moderating variables. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66(1), 174-184. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.66.1.174
• Smyth, J. ve Helm, R. (2003). Focused expressive writing as self-help for stress and trauma. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 59(2), 227-235. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.10144
• Stockton, H., Joseph, S. ve Hunt, N. (2014). Expressive writing and posttraumatic growth: An internet-based study. Traumatology: An International Journal, 20, 75-83. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0099377
• Suhr, M., Risch, A. K. ve Wilz, G. (2017). Maintaining mental health through positive writing: Effects of a resource diary on depression and emotion regulation. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 73(12), 1586-1598. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22463
• Tabachnick, B. G. ve Fidell, L. S. (2013). Using multivariate statistics (6. Basım). Pearson.
• Topkaya, N. ve Meydan, B. (2013). Üniversite öğrencilerinin problem yaşadıkları alanlar, yardım kaynakları ve psikolojik yardım alma niyetleri. Trakya Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 3(1), 25-37.
• Travagin, G., Margola, D. ve Revenson, T. A. (2015). How effective are expressive writing interventions for adolescents? A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 36, 42-55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2015.01.003
• Turan, N. (2022). Thwarted needs and psychological inflexibility predicting psychological distress in university students. Turkish Psychological Counseling and Guidance Journal, 12(66), 51-528. https://doi.org/10.17066/tpdrd.1175141
• Turan, N. ve Erdur-Baker, Ö. (2014). Attitudes towards seeking psychological help among a sample of Turkish university students: The roles of rumination and internal working models. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 42(1), 86-98. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2013.831031
• Turner, A. L. ve Quinn, K. F. (1999). College students’ perceptions of the value of psychological services: A comparison with APA’s public education research. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 30(4), 368-371. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7028.30.4.368
• Wong, C. S., Chua, M. J. ve Prihadi, K. D. (2021). Reducing depressive symptoms and increasing positive feelings with expressive writing. International Journal of Public Health Science, 10(2), 433-444. https://doi.org/10.11591/ijphs.v10i2.20797
• Wong, Y. J. ve Rochlen, A. B. (2009). Potential benefits of expressive writing for male college students with varying degrees of restrictive emotionality. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 10(2), 149-159. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015041
• Yorgun, A., ve Voltan-Acar, N. (2014). Gerçeklik terapisinin Türk kültürüne uygulanabilirliği: Kültür açısından eleştirel bakış. Eğitim ve Bilim, 39(175), 216-226. http://dx.doi.org/10.15390/EB.2014.460