The Effects of Written Emotional Disclosure on Eating Disorder Pathology in a Clinical Eating Disordered Population

Anorexia Nervosa Clinical Trial

Official title:

Study of the Efficacy of Written Emotional Disclosure on Eating Disorder Pathology

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT00766558
• Other study ID #: 28860
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: October 3, 2008
• Last updated: June 16, 2017
• Start date: June 2009
• Est. completion date: July 2013

Study information

• Verified date: June 2017
• Source: Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Observational

Clinical Trial Summary

A technique that has been found to be effective at relieving the physical and psychological symptoms associated with inhibiting emotions and emotional thoughts is written emotional disclosure. The goal of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of written emotional disclosure on the remediation of eating disorder behaviour, cognitions, and management of emotions.

Description:

New Partial program participants complete a packet of questionnaires during their initial appointment, which will be used as baseline levels of eating disorder symptoms and psychological health. Participants will complete the writing as part of their eating disorder therapy. The writing will be completed individually. The writing will consist of continuous writing for fifteen minutes on three consecutive days. The experimental group will write about traumatic or stressful experiences, while the control group will objectively describe events. A post-writing packet of questionnaires will be completed one week after completing the writing. A follow-up evaluation will occur four-weeks after completion of the post-writing packet and will include completing a packet of questionnaires and debriefing.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 29
• Est. completion date: July 2013
• Est. primary completion date: June 2010
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 14 Years to 50 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Willing to sign consent form

Exclusion Criteria:

• Unwilling to sign consent form

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Anorexia
• Anorexia Nervosa
• Bulimia
• Bulimia Nervosa
• Disease
• Eating Disorder
• Feeding and Eating Disorders

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Penn State College of Medicine	Hershey	Pennsylvania

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

References & Publications (6)

Pennebaker JW, Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Glaser R. Disclosure of traumas and immune function: health implications for psychotherapy. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1988 Apr;56(2):239-45. — View Citation

Pennebaker, J. W. and Francis, M. E. (1996). Cognitive, emotional, and language processes in disclosure. Cognition and Emotion, 10, 601-626.

Pennebaker, J. W., Chung, C. K., Ireland, M., Gonzales, A., and Booth, R. J. (2007). The development and psychometric properties of LIWC2007. Retrieved June 1, 2008, from Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count web site http://www.LIWC.net/liwcdescription.php

Petrie KJ, Booth RJ, Pennebaker JW. The immunological effects of thought suppression. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1998 Nov;75(5):1264-72. — View Citation

Petrie KJ, Fontanilla I, Thomas MG, Booth RJ, Pennebaker JW. Effect of written emotional expression on immune function in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection: a randomized trial. Psychosom Med. 2004 Mar-Apr;66(2):272-5. — View Citation

Quinton, S. and Wagner, H. L. (2005). Emotional expression, alexithymia, and characteristics associated with eating psychopathology in non-clinical women. Personality and Individual Differences, 38, 1163-1173.

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Testing and behavioral changes		6-weeks