The Effects of Expressive Writing and Compassionate Letter Writing on Emotional Distress Intolerance

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

424 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2021-07-04

Study Completion Date

2022-07-21

Brief Summary

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Perceived emotional distress intolerance is a transdiagnostic marker of psychopathology associated with psychological and interpersonal dysfunction, and the development of interventions for perceived emotional distress intolerance is of prime importance. One potential intervention is a behavioural experiment, i.e. a cognitive behaviour therapy technique where clients undergo an exercise designed to test a maladaptive belief, e.g., that negative emotions are unbearable, and adjust their belief to accommodate any disconfirmatory information that arises through the exercise. This study examines the effects of a one-session self-compassion writing behavioural experiment compared to a one-session expressive writing behavioural experiment on low perceived distress tolerance. Participants were recruited from the University of Waterloo and Prolific, and were randomly assigned to the self-compassion condition, expressive writing condition, or a control condition.

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Detailed Description

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The study consisted of two online surveys. During the first survey, participants answered a set of questionnaires. Then, they were prompted to think of an upsetting situation and the associated unpleasant emotions, and they were then randomly assigned to a brief self-compassionate writing, expressive writing, or neutral writing task. They then answered a series of questionnaires immediately after completing the writing task. During the second survey, one week later, participants answered a brief set of questionnaires.

Conditions

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Distress Intolerance

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

1/3 of the study participants (43 from UWaterloo, 98 from Prolific) were placed into the self-compassionate writing intervention group, 1/3 of the study participants (42 from UWaterloo, 100 from Prolific) were placed into the expressive writing intervention group, and 1/3 of the study participants (41 from UWaterloo, 100 from Prolific) were placed into the control group.

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Participants

The participant did not know prior to their study participation that there are three different study conditions, and they did not find out which condition they were randomized to until the end of their study participation.

Study Groups

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Self-compassionate writing intervention

Participants assigned to this intervention were asked to engage in one brief online self-compassionate writing session, where they were asked to write about and experience their feelings from the perspective of an inner compassionate observer.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Self-compassionate writing intervention

Intervention Type OTHER

Participants assigned to this intervention were asked to engage in one brief online self-compassionate writing session, where they were asked to write about and experience their feelings from the perspective of an inner compassionate observer.

Expressive writing intervention

Participants assigned to this intervention were asked to engage in one brief online expressive writing session, where they were asked to explore their deepest thoughts and emotions surrounding an upsetting situation through writing.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Expressive writing intervention

Intervention Type OTHER

Participants assigned to this intervention were asked to engage in one brief online expressive writing session, where they were asked to explore their deepest thoughts and emotions surrounding an upsetting situation through writing.

Control writing task

Participants assigned to this condition were asked to engage in a neutral time management writing task.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Control writing task

Intervention Type OTHER

Participants assigned to this condition were asked to engage in a neutral time management writing task.

Interventions

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Self-compassionate writing intervention

Participants assigned to this intervention were asked to engage in one brief online self-compassionate writing session, where they were asked to write about and experience their feelings from the perspective of an inner compassionate observer.

Intervention Type OTHER

Expressive writing intervention

Participants assigned to this intervention were asked to engage in one brief online expressive writing session, where they were asked to explore their deepest thoughts and emotions surrounding an upsetting situation through writing.

Intervention Type OTHER

Control writing task

Participants assigned to this condition were asked to engage in a neutral time management writing task.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Undergraduate students with a SONA account who are high in emotional distress intolerance (i.e. a lower-than-average score on the Distress Tolerance Scale; mean based on SONA student sample)

* Adults with a Prolific account who are high in emotional distress intolerance (i.e. a lower-than-average score on the Distress Tolerance Scale; mean based on Prolific sample)
* First language English speakers