The DOI matches its Crossref record; 29 of the 29 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The Secret Life of Pronouns: Flexibility in Writing Style and Physical Health
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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“Finally, as a broader behavioral marker of physical health, we assessed illness-related physician and health center visits.41”
From Social Media Use and Its Link to Physical Health Indicators (2022) · cites this paper as [41]
Citations
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Metadata
- 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
- 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
- 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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