Lu, Q., Zheng, D., Young, L., Kagawa-Singer, M., & Loh, A. (2012). A pilot study of expressive writing intervention among Chinese-speaking breast cancer survivors. Health Psychology, 31, 548–551.
To test the feasibility, cultural sensitivity, and effect of an expressive writing intervention.
Patients completed baseline assessments by mail and received three envelopes that were to be opened according to labels for study week. They were asked to write about their deepest feelings about having cancer and about the strategies they used for coping. They were to write for 20 minutes each week. After the last writing assignment and three and six months later they completed study questionnaires by mail. Focus group interviews were also conducted.
The study used a quasiexperimental, pre-/post repeated measures design.
At three months, the change in fatigue showed a partial eta2 of 0.066, and eta2 for posttraumatic stress was 0.208. There was 100% compliance in completing writing assignments. Patients commented that the activity was meaningful for Chinese women.
Findings suggested that expressive writing is a feasible and acceptable intervention for Chinese American women.
Expressive writing appeared to be an acceptable intervention for these women. The study design and sample size did not allow for any firm conclusions about effects to be drawn.