Studies // Cited work
How effective are expressive writing interventions for adolescents? A meta-analytic review
Travagin, G., Margola, D., & Revenson, T. A. (2015). How effective are expressive writing interventions for adolescents? A meta-analytic review.
Level A Meta-analysis doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2015.01.003
What this study supports
Supports the claims that expressive writing had a small positive overall effect in adolescents (g = 0.127), that few moderators were significant, and that higher-dosage protocols were associated with larger effects on somatic complaints. The authors judge the evidence promising but not decisive.
- Who was studied
- 21 independent studies of expressive writing in youth aged 10 to 18.
- Design
- Meta-analysis
- Level of evidence
- Syntheses of controlled studies: meta-analyses and systematic reviews of experiments and trials.
Claims that rest on it
Each claim states what the site asserts, at what strength, and with what caveat.
EmpiricalLevel AConfidence MODERATE
Brief self-directed expressive writing had no significant long-term effect on depressive symptoms in healthy adults under stress, with larger effects for more sessions and specific topics, and had a small positive overall effect in adolescents.
- Scope
- Randomised trials in physically healthy adults without PTSD and studies of youth aged 10 to 18.
- Caveat
- Moderator findings compare studies; the adolescent evidence was judged promising but not decisive.
Last reviewed · Review due · expressive-writing-limited-for-depression-and-youth