Relationship between expressive writing and health outcomes: A meta-analysis

Background: For the past three decades, scholars have suggested that writing about one’s deepest feelings and thoughts (expressive writing) has numerous health-related benefits. Among relevant studies, six meta-analyses answered two specific questions: 1) Does expressive writing have a positive effect on overall health? 2) Who benefits from expressive writing? However, none of those meta-analyses reported the effects of expressive writing upon individual health behaviors. The proposed meta-analysis updates the previous syntheses and summarizes the relationship between expressive writing and specific health outcomes.

Methods: Searching involved six major databases: PubMed, Ovid, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, PsychInfo, and Google Scholar, which yielded 325 articles between 2006 and 2014. Nine studies met the inclusion criteria. Search terms included: expressive writing, emotional disclosure, traumas, health, well-being, and randomized control trials (RCT).

Results: Preliminary analyses indicate a positive and statistically significant relationship between (a) expressive writing and weight management(r=0.37) and (b) expressive writing and smoking cessation (r=0.26). The overall effect size (r=0.20) was averaged across all health outcomes including psychological health, physiological functioning, reported health, general functioning, and health behaviors. The psychological health effect size was higher than for other outcomes. Also our results suggest that females benefit more than males; older adults, more than younger adults.

Discussion: Few public health practitioners and researchers have examined the role of expressive writing in health promotion. In this meta-analysis, we found expressive writing is an effective way to foster specific health outcomes. Hence, further use and evaluation of writing as a health promotion tool, are warranted.