Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Conditions
Keywords
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Narrative Writing
Brief summary
The current study proposes to directly measure how processing after participating in written disclosure about a traumatic life event affects physical and psychological outcomes.
Detailed description
Previous research has established the potential for narrative writing about traumatic events to result in positive benefits for physical and psychological health. Research has also provided evidence that written disclosure may reduce post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Several mechanisms of action have been proposed to explain why written disclosure produces positive benefits, but all have focused on processes occurring during the writing session. It has been suggested, however, that additional processing may occur after the writing exercises are over, yet no research has studied the influence of this processing on outcomes. The current study proposes to directly measure how processing after participating in written disclosure affects physical and psychological outcomes.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALNarrative Writing: Trauma-Assigned
Individuals will be writing about their most traumatic life event for 3 consecutive days for 20 minutes each. Those in the assigned group will be given instructions and weekly reminders to continue to think about their most traumatic event.
BEHAVIORALNarrative Writing: Trauma-Spontaneous
Individuals will be writing about their most traumatic life event for 3 consecutive days for 20 minutes each. Those in the spontaneous group will be given no further instructions.
Sponsors
University of Mississippi, Oxford
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Experienced a traumatic life event (DSM-IV-TR Criterion A) * Currently experiencing clinically significant levels of PTSD symptoms
Exclusion criteria
* Currently receiving psychotherapy * On medication that is not stable (i.e. medication has been changed within the past 6 weeks)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Level of PTSD symptoms as measured by the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale | 1 month after final writing session |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Physical health | 1 month after final writing session | Physical health as measured by the Pennebaker Inventory of Limibic Languidness (PILL) |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed