Writing about the perceived benefits of traumatic events: Implications forphysical health

Research by Pennebaker and his colleagues supports the healing power of wri ting about traumatic events. This study explored the importance of writing about the perceived benefits of traumatic events as a factor in this proces s. The study included 118 participants who were randomly assigned to write about one of four topics in a 2 (writing about perceived benefits vs. not w riting about perceived benefits) x 2 (writing about trauma vs, not writing about trauma) factorial design. Participants also completed questionnaire m easures of subjective well-being and released health center information for the year Participants who wrote only about trauma or perceived benefits sh owed significantly fewer health center visits for illness 3 months after wr iting In addition, 5 months after writing the trauma-only and perceived-ben efits-only groups maintained a difference from the control group. These res ults suggest that writing about perceived benefits from traumatic events ma y provide a less upsetting but effective way to benefit from writing.