TY - JOUR
T1 - Online positive affect journaling in the improvement of mental distress and well-being in general medical patients with elevated anxiety symptoms
T2 - A preliminary randomized controlled trial
AU - Smyth, Joshua M.
AU - Johnson, Jillian A.
AU - Auer, Brandon J.
AU - Lehman, Erik
AU - Talamo, Giampaolo
AU - Sciamanna, Christopher N.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding for this study was provided by the Penn State Social Science Research Institute. The funders have no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or paper preparation. Study data were collected and managed using Research Electronic Data Capture tools hosted at the Penn State Milton S Hershey Medical Center and College of Medicine. The authors would like to thank Vanessa Juth for feedback on an earlier version of this study.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Joshua M Smyth, Jillian A Johnson, Brandon J Auer, Erik Lehman, Giampaolo Talamo, Christopher N Sciamanna.
PY - 2018/10/1
Y1 - 2018/10/1
N2 - Background: Positive affect journaling (PAJ), an emotion-focused self-regulation intervention, has been associated with positive outcomes among medical populations. It may be adapted for Web-based dissemination to address a need for scalable, evidence-based psychosocial interventions among distressed patients with medical conditions. Objective: This study aimed to examine the impact of a 12-week Web-based PAJ intervention on psychological distress and quality of life in general medical patients. Methods: A total of 70 adults with various medical conditions and elevated anxiety symptoms were recruited from local clinics and randomly assigned to a Web-based PAJ intervention (n=35) or usual care (n=35). The intervention group completed 15-min Web-based PAJ sessions on 3 days each week for 12 weeks. At baseline and the end of months 1 through 3, surveys of psychological, interpersonal, and physical well-being were completed. Results: Patients evidenced moderate sustained adherence to Web-based intervention. PAJ was associated with decreased mental distress and increased well-being relative to baseline. PAJ was also associated with less depressive symptoms and anxiety after 1 month and greater resilience after the first and second month, relative to usual care. Conclusions: Web-based PAJ may serve as an effective intervention for mitigating mental distress, increasing well-being, and enhancing physical functioning among medical populations. PAJ may be integrated into routine medical care to improve quality of life.
AB - Background: Positive affect journaling (PAJ), an emotion-focused self-regulation intervention, has been associated with positive outcomes among medical populations. It may be adapted for Web-based dissemination to address a need for scalable, evidence-based psychosocial interventions among distressed patients with medical conditions. Objective: This study aimed to examine the impact of a 12-week Web-based PAJ intervention on psychological distress and quality of life in general medical patients. Methods: A total of 70 adults with various medical conditions and elevated anxiety symptoms were recruited from local clinics and randomly assigned to a Web-based PAJ intervention (n=35) or usual care (n=35). The intervention group completed 15-min Web-based PAJ sessions on 3 days each week for 12 weeks. At baseline and the end of months 1 through 3, surveys of psychological, interpersonal, and physical well-being were completed. Results: Patients evidenced moderate sustained adherence to Web-based intervention. PAJ was associated with decreased mental distress and increased well-being relative to baseline. PAJ was also associated with less depressive symptoms and anxiety after 1 month and greater resilience after the first and second month, relative to usual care. Conclusions: Web-based PAJ may serve as an effective intervention for mitigating mental distress, increasing well-being, and enhancing physical functioning among medical populations. PAJ may be integrated into routine medical care to improve quality of life.
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U2 - 10.2196/11290
DO - 10.2196/11290
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85071291401
SN - 2368-7959
VL - 5
JO - JMIR Mental Health
JF - JMIR Mental Health
IS - 4
M1 - e11290
ER -