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Experimental disclosure and its moderators: A meta-analysis.
Abstract
Disclosing information, thoughts, and feelings about personal and meaningful topics (experimental disclosure) is purported to have various health and psychological consequences (e.g., J. W. Pennebaker, 1993). Although the results of 2 small meta-analyses (P. G. Frisina, J. C. Borod, & S. J. Lepore, 2004; J. M. Smyth, 1998) suggest that experimental disclosure has a positive and significant effect, both used a fixed effects approach, limiting generalizability. Also, a plethora of studies on experimental disclosure have been completed that were not included in the previous analyses. One hundred forty-six randomized studies of experimental disclosure were collected and included in the present meta-analysis. Results of random effects analyses indicate that experimental disclosure is effective, with a positive and significant average r-effect size of .075. In addition, a number of moderators were identified.
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“It can be derived from literature, that therapeutic writing can be helpful for people and some researcher highlight the potential of the paradigm: Small benefits are consistently reported and the paradigm can be easily provided to a large number of individuals online at low-cost (Kállay, 2015; Frattaroli, 2006; Nyssen et al., 2016).”
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“Additionally, future studies should comprise more sessions, as more sessions have been found to have a larger effect on overall wellbeing (Frattaroli, 2006).”
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“A meta-analysis has found that expressive writing in various formats can improve physical and psychological health outcomes [41].”
From Efficacy of a web-based, crowdsourced peer-to-peer cognitive reappraisal platform for depression: Randomized controlled trial (2015) · cites this paper as [41]
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BackgroundResultInfluentialNazarian, D., & Smyth, J. M. (2010) · Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1521/jscp.2010.29.8.903 · Cited by 10
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“For instance, research has shown that experimental emotional self-disclosure may have a beneficial impact on physical health, psychological well-being, and general adjustment (Frattaroli, 2006; Magai, Consedine, Fiori, & King, 2009).”
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“Frattaroli published a meta-analysis suggesting that written disclosure of information, thoughts, and feelings enhances mental health [8].”
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“Considerable evidence supports the benefits of emotional disclosure and expressive writing related to a distressing event (Frattaroli, 2006).”
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“Numerous studies with different populations reveal a small, but stable effect of this minimal intervention (Frattaroli, 2006).”
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“In such cases, alternative forms of expression, such as writing (Frattaroli, 2006; Pennebaker & Beall, 1986), can offer a valuable outlet for processing and articulating the complex emotions associated with trauma.”
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“Disclosure is beneficial for psychological and physical health (36) and may resolve in the acquisition of social support.”
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“In her meta-analysis, Frattaroli (2006) analyzed 146 empirical studies and concluded that expressive writing has a positive and significant effect (effect size .075) on physical health, psychological health, and general functionality.”
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“…indicates positive health outcomes, such as fewer medical visits, better immune function, decreased medication use, and lower pain levels (Frattaroli, 2006; Pennebaker, 2000; Pennebaker, Kiecolt-Glaser, & Glaser, 1988; Pennebaker, Zech, & Rim e, 2001); however, disclosure about difficult…”
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“…professional and academic achievements, physiological functioning measured in a variety of ways (Pennebaker, 1993; Pennebaker and Seagal, 1999; Frattaroli, 2006; Burton and King, 2008; Niederhoffer and Pennebaker, 2009), and symptom reduction in patients with chronic illness (Smyth et al.,…”
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BackgroundCantisano, N., Rimé, B., & Sastre, M. T. M. (2014) · Psychology Health & Medicine · doi:10.1080/13548506.2014.901544 · Cited by 8
“Secondly, as brought forth by previous research (for review see Frattaroli, 2006), we expected that the inhibition of SSE in HIV/AIDS patients would lead to negative consequences regarding their physical and psychological well-being.”
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“Expressive writing or emotional disclosure found a beneficial effect on psychological well-being in a meta-analysis in primarily healthy participants (Frattaroli, 2006).”
How Dialysis Patients Live: A Study on Their Depression and Associated Factors in Southern Italy
Sinatra, M., Curci, A., de Palo, V., Monacis, L., & Tanucci, G. (2011) · Psychology · doi:10.4236/psych.2011.29146 · Cited by 8
“In samples drawn from normal populations social sharing has been found to be associated with increased health benefits as assessed by physician visits, reported symptoms, immunological functions, and indices of subjective well-being (Frattaroli, 2006).”
The Role of Anxiety Control Strategies in Imaginal Exposure
Koerner, N., & Fracalanza, K. (2012) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-3342-2_12 · Cited by 8
Elderly patients’ heart-related conditions: Disclosing health information differs by target
Checton, M. G., & Greene, K. L. (2014) · Psychology Health & Medicine · doi:10.1080/13548506.2014.986141 · Cited by 12
“The notion of “disclosure” itself has health benefits and has been linked to physical and mental well-being (Frattaroli, 2006).”
BackgroundStudent Mental Health Self-Disclosures in Classrooms: Perceptions and Implications
Wood, B. T., Bolner, O., & Gauthier, P. (2014) · Psychology Learning & Teaching · doi:10.2304/plat.2014.13.2.83 · Cited by 8
“Self-disclosure conducted in experimental settings has been shown to benefit physical health, psychological health, and overall functioning (e.g., Frattaroli, 2006; Frisina, Borod, & Lepore, 2004; Smyth, 1998).”
BackgroundEvidence-Based Health Outcomes of Expressive Writing
Horowitz, S. (2008) · Alternative and Complementary Therapies · doi:10.1089/act.2008.14405 · Cited by 8
Coping with Emotional Distress via Self-Disclosure to Robots: Intervention with CaregiversPreprint
Laban, G., Morrison, V. L., Kappas, A., & Cross, E. S. (2023) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/gbk2j · Cited by 8
Rude, S. S., Lantrip, C., Aguirre, V. A., & Schraegle, W. A. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1192595 · Cited by 7
“And, as has been previously noted (c.f., Frattaroli, 2006), small effect sizes for EW are quite impressive in light of the brevity, portability, and inexpensive nature of this intervention.”
BackgroundResultInfluentialValtonen, J., & Renko, E. (2025) · Advances in Health Sciences Education · doi:10.1007/s10459-025-10450-7 · Cited by 7
Prizeman, K., Weinstein, N., & McCabe, C. (2024) · Brain and Behavior · doi:10.1002/brb3.70028 · Cited by 11
“Disclosure benefits included lower feelings of loneliness, social isolation, and the need for social withdrawal; increased feelings of acceptance, inclusion, support, and understanding from close others;andimprovedwell-being(Frattaroli,2006;Garcia&Crocker,2008; Prizeman et al., 2023, 2024).”
BackgroundBenefits of Art therapy in Prison Population with a Diagnosis of Mental Illness: A Systematic Review
Isern, T. H., Pastor, L. C. D., & Torres, M. G. J. (2024) · International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology · doi:10.1177/0306624x241301213 · Cited by 7
“Also noteworthy is the work of Gussak (2004, 2006, 2009) and his efforts to promote the implementation of art therapy programs in Florida prisons, in both exclusively male samples and mixed groups that suffered from various mental disorders.”
Same author and same data *dependence in *meta-analysis
Shin, I. (2009) · Cited by 7
Hevey, D., & Wilczkiewicz, E. (2014) · Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1080/21642850.2014.971801 · Cited by 8
“Expressive writing’s effects are potentially moderated by a number of variables (Frattaroli, 2006).”
BackgroundInfluentialVedhara, K., Brant, H., Adamopoulos, E., Byrne-Davis, L. M. T., Mackintosh, B., Hoppitt, L., Tovée, M. J., Miles, J. E., & Pennebaker, J. W. (2010) · International Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s12529-009-9072-2 · Cited by 7
Beyer, J. A., Lumley, M. A., Latsch, D. V., Oberleitner, L., Carty, J. N., & Radcliffe, A. M. (2013) · Anxiety Stress & Coping · doi:10.1080/10615806.2013.868887 · Cited by 7
“Meta-analyses, however, have shown that standard WED has a very small effect (about 0.15 SD ), and many studies have null findings (Frattaroli, 2006); thus, our lack of a standard WED effect is not that surprising.”
ResultInfluentialTruong, K. P., Westerhof, G. J., Lamers, S. M. A., & de Jong, F. M. G. (2014) · Literary and Linguistic Computing · doi:10.1093/llc/fqu041 · Cited by 7
“2.1 Data set: oral history collection”
BackgroundInfluentialTruong, K. P., Westerhof, G. J., Lamers, S. M. A., de Jong, F. M. G., & Sools, A. M. (2013) · RePub (Erasmus University Rotterdam) · doi:10.4230/oasics.cmn.2013.310 · Cited by 7
Emotional disclosure as a therapeutic intervention in palliative care: a scoping review protocol
McInnerney, D., Kupeli, N., Stone, P. C., Anantapong, K., Chan, J., & Candy, B. (2019) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2019-031046 · Cited by 7
“It has been suggested that moderators, such as demographic, personality and existing emotional support, are also likely to influence the efficacy of ED-based therapies, highlighting the importance of targeting and tailoring such interventions.(43) In people receiving palliative care, evidence of efficacy also remains…”
BackgroundTherapeutic Writing for Disordered Eating: A Systematic Review
Ramsey‐Wade, C. E., Williamson, H., & Meyrick, J. (2020) · Journal of Creativity in Mental Health · doi:10.1080/15401383.2020.1760988 · Cited by 7
“Many studies in this review suffered from low participant numbers (East et al., 2010; Frayne & Wade, 2006; Smyth et al., 2008); larger studies are needed to verify these results.”
BackgroundResultEvaluation of Behavior Change Interventions
Matthews, L., & Simpson, S. A. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108677318.022 · Cited by 8
How am I going to tell you this? The relations between social anxiety and narrative coherence
Vanaken, L., & Hermans, D. (2020) · Memory · doi:10.1080/09658211.2020.1826971 · Cited by 6
The Impact of Moral Injury and Disclosure of Military Experiences on Veterans
Fleur, R. E. L., McDonald, M., Senecal, G. R., & Coey, C. A. (2020) · Journal of Humanistic Psychology · doi:10.1177/0022167820972214 · Cited by 9
“Consistent with considerations above, research suggests that disclosure of military experiences plays a key role in the reintegration process (Caddick et al., 2015; Frattaroli, 2006; Kashdan & Kane, 2011).”
Vanaken, L., Waters, T. E. A., Boddez, Y., Bijttebier, P., & Hermans, D. (2021) · Memory · doi:10.1080/09658211.2021.2009877 · Cited by 10
“It is assumed and evidenced that the manner in which individuals narrate about personal past experiences, can be reflective of their well-being (e.g., Adler et al., 2016; Baerger & McAdams, 1999; Frattaroli, 2006; Mitchell et al., 2020; Waters & Fivush, 2015).”
BackgroundAuthoring esteem: Writing about vicarious and personal life story chapters boosts state self-esteem
Thomsen, D. K., Pfattheicher, S., & Dunlop, W. L. (2021) · Personality Science · doi:10.5964/ps.7017 · Cited by 8
“For example, the expressive writing paradigm, wherein partici pants are instructed to write about personal experiences repeatedly over several days, has been found to reduce the number of subsequent health complaints (Frattaroli, 2006; Pennebaker & Seagal, 1999).”
BackgroundAlfasi, Y. (2022) · The Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/00224545.2022.2061326 · Cited by 8
Metadata
- Authors
- Frattaroli, J.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Riverside (US)
- Corresponding author
- Frattaroli, Joanne
- Venue
- Psychological Bulletin
- Published
- 2006
- Volume
- 132
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 823-865
- ISSN
- 0033-2909 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1455
- OpenAlex
- W2031791082
- Cited by
- 1,502
- References
- 157
- Citations by year
- 2026: 61 · 2025: 40 · 2024: 46 · 2023: 70 · 2022: 90 · 2021: 74 · 2020: 142 · 2019: 82 · 2018: 123 · 2017: 52 · 2016: 124 · 2015: 88 · 2014: 85 · 2013: 73 · 2012: 91
- FWCI
- 52.64
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Bulletin (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- University of California
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health via Writing
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Keywords
- expressive writing, random effects models, effect size
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Adult, Attitude to Health, Female, Health Status, Humans, Life Change Events, Male, Mental Health, Self Disclosure, Time Factors, Writing, Expressed Emotion, Disclosure
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