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Respiratory sinus arrhythmia predicts written disclosure outcome
Author(s) -
Sloan Denise M.,
Epstein Eva M.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2005.347.x
Subject(s) - vagal tone , moderation , psychology , self disclosure , clinical psychology , depression (economics) , outcome (game theory) , medicine , social psychology , heart rate , heart rate variability , mathematics , mathematical economics , blood pressure , economics , macroeconomics
Research has indicated that writing about traumatic experiences is associated with beneficial health effects compared with writing about emotionally neutral topics. What remains unclear are those factors that moderate the beneficial effects associated with written disclosure. This study examined respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) as a moderator of written disclosure outcome. Findings indicated that individuals with the highest RSA during the first written disclosure session benefited most from written disclosure in terms of physical health complaints and depression symptoms. As expected, RSA did not impact outcome for participants assigned to a control condition. These findings indicate that individuals who display good emotion regulation skills are best served by written disclosure.