The Effect of COVID-Focused Expressive Writing on Symptoms of Depression, Anxiety, and Distress in College Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been associated with increased levels of distress for college students. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a COVID-focused expressive writing intervention in reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and distress. Methods: A...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of social and clinical psychology Vol. 42; no. 3; pp. 238 - 266
Main Authors Robertson, Sarah M. C., Short, Stephen D., Auger, Liz, Murray, Mari
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York Guilford Press 01.06.2023
Subjects
Anxiety
Brief interventions
Clinical trials
College students
Control groups
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Efficacy
Mental depression
Pandemics
Psychological distress
Symptoms
Writing
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Summary:Objective: The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been associated with increased levels of distress for college students. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a COVID-focused expressive writing intervention in reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and distress. Methods: A total of 169 college students were assigned either to a COVID-focused expressive writing intervention or to a nonwriting control group. All participants completed a 1-month follow-up assessment, and all study procedures were completed online due to COVID-19 restrictions. Depression was measured with the Beck Depression Inventory-II, anxiety was measured with the Beck Anxiety Inventory, and distress was measured with a Likert-scale question that measured distress specifically related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Results indicated that participants in the expressive writing group demonstrated a significant decrease (b = -1.35) in anxiety symptoms whereas participants in the control group did not. None of the participants in either group demonstrated a significant decrease in depression symptoms. Ratings of distress in the expressive writing group were significantly lower (d = -0.51) at the 1-month follow-up when compared to the control group. Discussion: COVID-focused expressive writing is a relatively brief and inexpensive intervention that has been associated with lower symptoms of anxiety and distress in college students. Theoretical implications are discussed.
ISSN:0736-7236
1943-2771
DOI:10.1521/jscp.2023.42.3.238