Effects of Narrative Writing Duration and Post-writing Processing Instructions on PTSD

The current study proposes to directly measure how processing after participating in written disclosure about a traumatic life event affects physical and psychological outcomes.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Narrative Writing: Trauma-Assigned; Behavioral: Narrative Writing: Trauma-Spontaneous

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.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 49
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Mississippi
    • University, Mississippi, United States, 38677
      • The University of Mississippi

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

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)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control; Individuals will write objectively about the events of their day.
Experimental: Narrative Writing: Trauma-Assigned; Trauma-assigned: Individuals will write about their most traumatic life experience and be instructed to continue to think about their writing topic in the weeks following writing.	Behavioral: Narrative 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.
Active Comparator: Narrative Writing: Trauma-Spontaneous; Individuals will write about their most traumatic life experience but will not be given further instructions for processing. Any additional processing about their writing topic in the weeks following writing will be considered spontaneous.	Behavioral: Narrative 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.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Level of PTSD symptoms as measured by the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale	1 month after final writing session

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Physical health	Physical health as measured by the Pennebaker Inventory of Limibic Languidness (PILL)	1 month after final writing session

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Mississippi, Oxford
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Tom Lombardo, PhD, University of Mississippi, Oxford

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: February 1, 2012
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 1, 2014
• Study Completion (Actual): May 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 18, 2013
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 18, 2013
• First Posted (Estimate): January 23, 2013

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): May 15, 2014
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 14, 2014
• Last Verified: May 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD); Narrative Writing
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders; Stress Disorders, Traumatic; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
• Other Study ID Numbers: UMO-0004