Should I Write or Should I Not? The Investigation of the Short- and Medium-term Effects of an Expressive Writing Intervention in Reducing Depressive Symptoms, Rumination, and Intolerance of Uncertainty in College Students. A Pilot Study
Given the rising mental health concerns in the student population, especially regarding depression and emotion regulation difficulties, cost-effective and accessible interventions are urgently needed. Thus, the current study investigated the short- and long-term effects of an expressive writing (EW...
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Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Studia Universitatis Babeş-Bolyai. Psychologia-Paedagogia |
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| Online Access: | https://studia.reviste.ubbcluj.ro/index.php/subbpsypaed/article/view/9254 |
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| author | Roland-Henriu GERGELY Éva KÁLLAY |
| author_facet | Roland-Henriu GERGELY Éva KÁLLAY |
| author_sort | Roland-Henriu GERGELY |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Given the rising mental health concerns in the student population, especially regarding depression and emotion regulation difficulties, cost-effective and accessible interventions are urgently needed. Thus, the current study investigated the short- and long-term effects of an expressive writing (EW) intervention on subclinical depressive symptoms, rumination, and intolerance of uncertainty on a sample of female Transylvanian Hungarian university students. Participants engaged in a standard EW protocol, writing about distressing experiences for 15–30 minutes over four consecutive days. Outcomes were measured at baseline (T0), immediately post-intervention (T1), and at a six-week follow-up (T2). Results revealed a significant reduction in depressive symptoms from T0 to T1 and T2, with large and moderate-to-large effect sizes, respectively. While prospective anxiety (IUS-PA) decreased immediately post-intervention, it returned to baseline levels at follow-up. Inhibitory anxiety (IUS-IA) initially increased but decreased significantly by T2. Rumination showed a delayed yet significant reduction from T0 to T2. Cognitive strategies such as self-blame and acceptance improved post-intervention, while behavioral strategies showed mixed results: withdrawal decreased over time, whereas ignoring decreased initially but rebounded by T2. These findings suggest EW may be an effective short-term intervention for reducing depressive symptoms and enhancing emotion regulation. However, some benefits diminished over time, highlighting the potential need for reinforcement or complementary interventions.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-22fabe078e6d4d068dabf90fef8b0316 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2065-9431 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Studia Universitatis Babeş-Bolyai. Psychologia-Paedagogia |
| spelling | doaj-art-22fabe078e6d4d068dabf90fef8b03162025-08-20T03:26:42ZengStudia Universitatis Babes-BolyaiStudia Universitatis Babeş-Bolyai. Psychologia-Paedagogia2065-94312025-06-0170110.24193/subbpsyped.2025.1.08Should I Write or Should I Not? The Investigation of the Short- and Medium-term Effects of an Expressive Writing Intervention in Reducing Depressive Symptoms, Rumination, and Intolerance of Uncertainty in College Students. A Pilot StudyRoland-Henriu GERGELY0https://orcid.org/0009-0005-3112-9522Éva KÁLLAY1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2369-8013Department of Applied Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, RomaniaDepartment of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Corresponding author: evakallay@psychology.ro Given the rising mental health concerns in the student population, especially regarding depression and emotion regulation difficulties, cost-effective and accessible interventions are urgently needed. Thus, the current study investigated the short- and long-term effects of an expressive writing (EW) intervention on subclinical depressive symptoms, rumination, and intolerance of uncertainty on a sample of female Transylvanian Hungarian university students. Participants engaged in a standard EW protocol, writing about distressing experiences for 15–30 minutes over four consecutive days. Outcomes were measured at baseline (T0), immediately post-intervention (T1), and at a six-week follow-up (T2). Results revealed a significant reduction in depressive symptoms from T0 to T1 and T2, with large and moderate-to-large effect sizes, respectively. While prospective anxiety (IUS-PA) decreased immediately post-intervention, it returned to baseline levels at follow-up. Inhibitory anxiety (IUS-IA) initially increased but decreased significantly by T2. Rumination showed a delayed yet significant reduction from T0 to T2. Cognitive strategies such as self-blame and acceptance improved post-intervention, while behavioral strategies showed mixed results: withdrawal decreased over time, whereas ignoring decreased initially but rebounded by T2. These findings suggest EW may be an effective short-term intervention for reducing depressive symptoms and enhancing emotion regulation. However, some benefits diminished over time, highlighting the potential need for reinforcement or complementary interventions. https://studia.reviste.ubbcluj.ro/index.php/subbpsypaed/article/view/9254depressive symptomsruminationintolerance of uncertaintyexpressive writing |
| spellingShingle | Roland-Henriu GERGELY Éva KÁLLAY Should I Write or Should I Not? The Investigation of the Short- and Medium-term Effects of an Expressive Writing Intervention in Reducing Depressive Symptoms, Rumination, and Intolerance of Uncertainty in College Students. A Pilot Study Studia Universitatis Babeş-Bolyai. Psychologia-Paedagogia depressive symptoms rumination intolerance of uncertainty expressive writing |
| title | Should I Write or Should I Not? The Investigation of the Short- and Medium-term Effects of an Expressive Writing Intervention in Reducing Depressive Symptoms, Rumination, and Intolerance of Uncertainty in College Students. A Pilot Study |
| title_full | Should I Write or Should I Not? The Investigation of the Short- and Medium-term Effects of an Expressive Writing Intervention in Reducing Depressive Symptoms, Rumination, and Intolerance of Uncertainty in College Students. A Pilot Study |
| title_fullStr | Should I Write or Should I Not? The Investigation of the Short- and Medium-term Effects of an Expressive Writing Intervention in Reducing Depressive Symptoms, Rumination, and Intolerance of Uncertainty in College Students. A Pilot Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Should I Write or Should I Not? The Investigation of the Short- and Medium-term Effects of an Expressive Writing Intervention in Reducing Depressive Symptoms, Rumination, and Intolerance of Uncertainty in College Students. A Pilot Study |
| title_short | Should I Write or Should I Not? The Investigation of the Short- and Medium-term Effects of an Expressive Writing Intervention in Reducing Depressive Symptoms, Rumination, and Intolerance of Uncertainty in College Students. A Pilot Study |
| title_sort | should i write or should i not the investigation of the short and medium term effects of an expressive writing intervention in reducing depressive symptoms rumination and intolerance of uncertainty in college students a pilot study |
| topic | depressive symptoms rumination intolerance of uncertainty expressive writing |
| url | https://studia.reviste.ubbcluj.ro/index.php/subbpsypaed/article/view/9254 |
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