Cited by 430Mental Health via WritingIdentity, Memory, and TherapyPsychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction

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The Secret Life of Pronouns: Flexibility in Writing Style and Physical Health

Campbell, R. Sherlock, Pennebaker, James W.·2003·Psychological Science

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Abstract

Numerous disclosure studies have demonstrated that individuals randomly assigned to write about emotional topics evidence improved physical health compared with those who write about superficial topics. The writing samples from three previously published studies of 74 first-year students, 50 upper-division students, and 59 maximum-security prisoners were reanalyzed using Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) to explore possible relationships of writing content and style to changes in frequency of physician visits following the disclosure intervention. LSA revealed that flexibility in the use of common words—particularly personal pronouns—when writing about traumatic memories was related to positive health outcomes. The findings point to the importance of the role of discussing the self and social relationships in writing and, at the same time, to the remarkable potential of techniques such as LSA.

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Acknowledgements
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Conclusion
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The form of threats
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Threatening
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Index
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References
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Prelim pages
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Data & methodology
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Appendix
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Table of contents
(2018) · Pragmatics & beyond. New series · doi:10.1075/pbns.284.toc
Introduction
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The function of threats
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Appendixes
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Author index
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Authors: Campbell, R. S., & Pennebaker, J. W.
Affiliations: The University of Texas at Austin (US)
Corresponding author: Pennebaker, James W.
ORCID: Pennebaker, James W.
Venue: Psychological Science
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2003-01
Volume: 14
Issue: 1
Pages: 60-65
ISSN: 0956-7976 (ISSN-L)
1467-9280
DOI: 10.1111/1467-9280.01419
OpenAlex: W2065388710
Cited by: 430
References: 28
Citations by year: 2026: 5 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 49 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 22 · 2015: 22 · 2014: 50 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 30
FWCI: 16.48
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations: Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders: National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH052391, MH52391)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health via Writing
Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Identity, Memory, and Therapy
Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
Keywords: expressive writing, personal pronouns, writing style, traumatic memory, physician visits, health outcomes, latent semantic analysis, content authoring, self-disclosure, first-year students
MeSH terms: Adolescent, Female, Health Status, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Linguistics, Male, Self Disclosure, Semantics, Verbal Behavior, Vocabulary

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The Secret Life of Pronouns: Flexibility in Writing Style and Physical Health

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