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Completed

NCT Number: NCT06130020

Comparing Targets of Expressive Writing

Expressive writing involves writing about one's deepest thoughts and feelings surrounding an emotional event. The current literature on the efficacy of expressive writing is mixed and warrants further investigation into how, when, and for whom expressive writing is an effective intervention. The goal of this study is to compare the efficacy of expressive writing interventions in young adults when people imagine that they're writing to themselves vs. a loved one. Participants will carry out an expressive writing exercise for 14 consecutive days. Participants are randomized into 3 groups: Self, Other, and Control. The Self group is instructed to write as if they were talking to themselves. The Other group is instructed to direct their writing to someone they feel close to. The Control group is asked to write down a factual description of their routine that day, and direct this writing to themselves. We will recruit participants until we have usable data from 53 participants per group (i.e., 159 in total).

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Key information

Conditions

Healthy Anxiety Anxiety Disorders Behavior Behavioral Symptoms Depression Mental Disorders Personal Satisfaction Psychological Well-Being

Age range

18 year–25 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Peretsman Scully Hall

Princeton, New Jersey, 08540, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • US-based
  • Fluent English
  • Combined GAD-7 and PHQ-8 score of ≥ 5

Exclusion criteria

  • "Completion" of a writing session requires participants to spend at least 15 minutes on the writing page. We will monitor completion of the daily writing exercise, and will contact participants who miss or spend less than 15 minutes on the exercise. Participants who fail to complete 3 consecutive daily writing sessions will be deemed non-compliant, removed from the study, and paid a prorated amount for the tasks they have completed in the study.

Treatment and study plan

Expressive Writing: Self

Behavioral

This intervention consists of a daily expressive writing exercise carried out for 14 consecutive days, for 15 minutes each day. Expressive writing involves asking participants to write about their deepest thoughts and feelings surrounding an emotional event. Participants in this condition will write as if they are writing to themselves.

Expressive Writing: Other

Behavioral

This intervention consists of a daily expressive writing exercise carried out for 14 consecutive days, for 15 minutes each day. Expressive writing involves asking participants to write about their deepest thoughts and feelings surrounding an emotional event. Participants in this condition will write as if they are writing/talking to someone they're close to.

Factual Writing

Behavioral

This intervention consists of a daily factual writing exercise carried out for 14 consecutive days, for 15 minutes each day. Participants are asked to give a factual description of their day. This is a standard control for Expressive writing studies. Participants in this condition will be asked to direct their writing to themselves.

Primary outcomes

  1. Anxiety

    Time frame: Initial visit (day 1), mid-point (day 7) final visit (day 15), 1-month follow-up (1 month after day 14)

    Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7). Scores range from 0-21, with higher scores indicating more severe anxiety.

  2. Depression

    Time frame: Initial visit (day 1), mid-point (day 7), final visit (day 15), 1-month follow-up (1 month after day 14)

    Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8). Scores range from 0-24, with higher scores indicating more severe depression.

Other outcomes

  1. Sleep Quality

    Time frame: Initial visit (day 1), final visit (day 15), 1-month follow-up (1 month after day 14)

    Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Total scores range from 0-21, with higher scores indicating poorer sleep quality.

  2. Depression, Anxiety, and Stress

    Time frame: Initial visit (day 1), final visit (day 15), 1-month follow-up (1 month after day 14)

    Depression, Anxiety, and Stress-21 (DASS-21). Scores for each of the three subscales range from 0-42, with higher scores indicating greater severity.

  3. Alexithymia (TAS)

    Time frame: Initial visit (day 1), final visit (day 15), 1-month follow-up (1 month after day 14)

    Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20). Scores range from 20-100, with higher scores indicating greater alexithymia.

  4. Alexithymia (PAQ)

    Time frame: Initial visit (day 1), final visit (day 15), 1-month follow-up (1 month after day 14)

    Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ). Total scores range from 24-168, with higher scores indicating greater alexithymia.

  5. Emotion Regulation

    Time frame: Initial visit (day 1), final visit (day 15), 1-month follow-up (1 month after day 14)

    Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ). Scores for the reappraisal and suppression subscales range from 6-42 and 4-28 respectively. Higher scores indicate greater use of the strategy.

  6. Interpersonal Regulation

    Time frame: Initial visit (day 1), final visit (day 15), 1-month follow-up (1 month after day 14)

    Interpersonal Regulation Questionnaire (IRQ). Total scores range from 16-112, with higher scores indicating greater tendency to use/efficacy of interpersonal emotion regulation.

  7. Social Desirability

    Time frame: Initial visit (day 1), final visit (day 15), 1-month follow-up (1 month after day 14)

    Marlow-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MC-SDS). Scores range from 0-33, with higher scores indicating greater social desirability.

  8. Social Connectedness

    Time frame: Initial visit (day 1), final visit (day 15), 1-month follow-up (1 month after day 14)

    Social Connectedness Scale (SCS). Scores range from 8-48, with higher scores indicating greater connectedness to others.

  9. Daily Sleep

    Time frame: Daily from day 1 to day 14

    Consensus Sleep Diary (CSD). Items are used to derive estimates of sleep indices, such as time in bed and total sleep time.

  10. Sleepiness

    Time frame: Daily from day 1 to day 14

    Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS). Scores on this single-item scale range from 1-10, with higher scores indicating greater sleepiness.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Trustees of Princeton University

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
Nov 13, 2023
Registry last updated
Feb 23, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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