ネガティブ感情体験の構造化開示が心身機能に及ぼす影響 : メタ認知の観点からのメカニズム検討

The purposes of this study were to examine the effects of structured disclosure to
enhance cognitive reappraisal of negative emotional experience on health and working
memory in a Japanese sample, and to investigate the effects of the structured disclosure
in those who can “keep away from thinking and emotion” (distancing). The participants
were 75 undergraduates. They were randomly assigned to structured disclosure (n=25),
free disclosure, which was developed by Pennebaker, J. W. (n=25), and control groups
(n=25). They were asked to disclose through writing for 20 minutes on 3 days. It is
suggested that the structured disclosure may improve physical symptoms, because
there was a significant trend in interaction between groups and time periods on
physical symptoms, and effect size of the structured group was modest. Though all the
participants in the groups revealed significantly improvements in other health
measures and score of working memory from pre to 2 week, 1 month, and 3 month
follow-up assessment times, no interaction effects were obtained. It is showed that those
who could keep away from thinking and emotion while writing (high-distanced) can
significantly improve scores of posttraumatic stress reactions and pain of the negative
emotional experience than those who could not do so (low-distanced). These results and
the mechanism of the disclosure were discussed from the view point of metacognition.