title: Expressive writing promotes self-reported physical, social and psychological health among Chinese undergraduates.
abstract: The present study examines the efficacy of expressive writing among Chinese undergraduates. The sample comprised of 74 undergraduates enrolled in a 9-week intervention (35 in experimental class vs. 39 in control class). The writing exercises were well-embedded in an elective course for the two classes. The 46-item simplified Chinese Self-Rated Health Measurement Scale, which assesses psychological, physical and social health, was adopted to measure the outcome of this study. Baseline (second week) and post-test (ninth week) scores were obtained during the classes. After the intervention on the eighth week, the self-reported psychological, social and physical health of the experimental class improved. Psychological health obtained the maximum degree of improvement, followed by social and physical health. Furthermore, female participants gained more psychological improvement than males. These results demonstrated that the expressive writing approach could improve the physical, social and psychological health of Chinese undergraduates, and the method can be applied in university psychological consulting settings in Mainland China.
authors.affiliation: Center of Studies for Psychology and Social Development, Southwest University, Chongqing, China; School of Culture and Social Development Studies, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Zhihan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Xiaoqing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Wenjie
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.forename: Yonghong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D057566:Self Report; D012737:Sex Factors; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012923:Social Class; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014956:Writing; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Expressive writing; Intervention; Physical health; Psychological health; Social health