Efficacy of positive expressive writing in reducing depression and social anxiety symptoms among schoolchildren during COVID-19: A randomized controlled trial.

IF 2.5 3区心理学 Q2 PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL

Journal of Health Psychology Pub Date : 2024-11-15 DOI:10.1177/13591053241295446

Chao S Hu, Haotian Zhang, Lihao Hu, Artur Nadiiev, Junru Yan, Mengyuan Liu

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic harmed children's mental health, and limited therapy access exacerbates the issue. We studied positive expressive writing (EW) as a psychological intervention for teachers to reduce depression and social anxiety symptoms among schoolchildren. Altogether, 165 Chinese schoolchildren aged 10-15 were randomly assigned to positive EW, memory EW, or control group. EW groups wrote for 10 minutes weekly for 7 weeks about people and things they felt grateful for (positive EW) or memorable in the past week. The control group continued with regular weekly class meetings. All groups measured depression and social anxiety before and after the intervention. Positive EW significantly reduced depression and social anxiety symptoms compared to the control condition (both Cohen's d = -0.45) and reduced social anxiety symptoms compared to memory EW (Cohen's d = -0.32). Therefore, teachers can implement positive EW to support schoolchildren's mental health recovery during and after disasters.

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在 COVID-19 期间，积极表达性写作对减轻学龄儿童抑郁和社交焦虑症状的效果：随机对照试验

COVID-19大流行损害了儿童的心理健康，而有限的治疗途径又加剧了这一问题。我们研究了积极的表达性写作（EW）作为教师的心理干预措施，以减轻学龄儿童的抑郁和社交焦虑症状。共有 165 名 10-15 岁的中国学龄儿童被随机分配到积极表达式写作组、记忆表达式写作组或对照组。积极记忆法组每周写作 10 分钟，时间为 7 周，内容为过去一周中他们感到感激（积极记忆法）或难忘的人和事。对照组则继续每周定期举行班会。所有小组在干预前后都对抑郁和社交焦虑进行了测量。与对照组相比，积极 EW 能明显减轻抑郁和社交焦虑症状（Cohen's d = -0.45）；与记忆 EW 相比，积极 EW 能减轻社交焦虑症状（Cohen's d = -0.32）。因此，教师可以通过实施积极的预警来帮助学童在灾中和灾后恢复心理健康。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Health Psychology PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL-

CiteScore

7.50

自引率

3.10%

发文量

期刊介绍： ournal of Health Psychology is an international peer-reviewed journal that aims to support and help shape research in health psychology from around the world. It provides a platform for traditional empirical analyses as well as more qualitative and/or critically oriented approaches. It also addresses the social contexts in which psychological and health processes are embedded. Studies published in this journal are required to obtain ethical approval from an Institutional Review Board. Such approval must include informed, signed consent by all research participants. Any manuscript not containing an explicit statement concerning ethical approval and informed consent will not be considered.