HealthyNCT06130020
Comparing Targets of Expressive Writing
A study testing Expressive Writing: Self, Expressive Writing: Other and Factual Writing in people with Healthy and Anxiety, run by Trustees of Princeton University at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
Expressive writing involves writing about one's deepest thoughts and feelings surrounding an emotional event. The current literature on the efficacy of expressive writing is mixed and warrants further investigation into how, when, and for whom expressive writing is an effective intervention. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 25 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Healthy, Anxiety, Depression
- What is being tested?
- Expressive Writing: Self, Expressive Writing: Other and Factual Writing
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 160 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 10 Nov 2023to 30 Oct 2025
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 25 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- US-based
- Fluent English
- Combined GAD-7 and PHQ-8 score of ≥ 5
Who cannot join
- "Completion" of a writing session requires participants to spend at least 15 minutes on the writing page. We will monitor completion of the daily writing exercise, and will contact participants who miss or spend less than 15 minutes on the exercise. Participants who fail to complete 3 consecutive daily writing sessions will be deemed non-compliant, removed from the study, and paid a prorated amount for the tasks they have completed in the study.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Expressive writing involves writing about one's deepest thoughts and feelings surrounding an emotional event. The current literature on the efficacy of expressive writing is mixed and warrants further investigation into how, when, and for whom expressive writing is an effective intervention. The goal of this study is to compare the efficacy of expressive writing interventions in young adults when people imagine that they're writing to themselves vs. a loved one. Participants will carry out an expressive writing exercise for 14 consecutive days. Participants are randomized into 3 groups: Self, Other, and Control. The Self group is instructed to write as if they were talking to themselves. The Other group is instructed to direct their writing to someone they feel close to. The Control group is asked to write down a factual description of their routine that day, and direct this writing to themselves. We will recruit participants until we have usable data from 53 participants per group (i.e., 159 in total).
- Conditions
- Healthy, Anxiety, Depression
- Being tested
- Expressive Writing: Self, Expressive Writing: Other, Factual Writing
- Keywords
- expressive writing, journaling, mental health
- Medical subject headings
- Anxiety Disorders, Depression, Psychological Well-Being
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Expressive Writing: SelfBehavioural
This intervention consists of a daily expressive writing exercise carried out for 14 consecutive days, for 15 minutes each day. Expressive writing involves asking participants to write about their deepest thoughts and feelings surrounding an emotional event. Participants in this condition will write as if they are writing to themselves.
Expressive Writing: OtherBehavioural
This intervention consists of a daily expressive writing exercise carried out for 14 consecutive days, for 15 minutes each day. Expressive writing involves asking participants to write about their deepest thoughts and feelings surrounding an emotional event. Participants in this condition will write as if they are writing/talking to someone they're close to.
Factual WritingBehavioural
This intervention consists of a daily factual writing exercise carried out for 14 consecutive days, for 15 minutes each day. Participants are asked to give a factual description of their day. This is a standard control for Expressive writing studies. Participants in this condition will be asked to direct their writing to themselves.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Self | Experimental | The Self group is instructed to carry out the expressive writing exercise as if they were writing to themselves. Receives: Behavioral: Expressive Writing: Self |
| Other | Experimental | The Other group is instructed to carry out the expressive writing exercise as if they were writing to someone they feel close to. Receives: Behavioral: Expressive Writing: Other |
| Control | Placebo comparator | The Control group is asked to write down a factual description of their routine that day, as if they were writing to themselves. Receives: Behavioral: Factual Writing |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Anxiety
Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7). Scores range from 0-21, with higher scores indicating more severe anxiety.
Measured: Initial visit (day 1), mid-point (day 7) final visit (day 15), 1-month follow-up (1 month after day 14)
Depression
Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8). Scores range from 0-24, with higher scores indicating more severe depression.
Measured: Initial visit (day 1), mid-point (day 7), final visit (day 15), 1-month follow-up (1 month after day 14)
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted13 Nov 2023
- Study start10 Nov 2023
- Primary completion30 Oct 2025
- Study completion30 Oct 2025
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for HealthyStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Participant
- Enrolment
- 160 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Trustees of Princeton University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Erik Nook, PhD, Principal investigator, Princeton University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06130020
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 15734
- Status last verified
- Feb 2026
- First submitted
- 6 Nov 2023
- Last updated
- 23 Feb 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: Upon study completion, a subset of the de-identified data will be transferred to OSF, which will provide public access to this data. Writing content will not be transferred to OSF, though we will make thoroughly de-identified data available to researchers who have completed appropriate ethics training, agree to confidentiality restrictions, and whose research goals are in line with the purpose of this study.
Publications
Pennebaker JW, Beall SK. Confronting a traumatic event: toward an understanding of inhibition and disease. J Abnorm Psychol. 1986 Aug;95(3):274-81. doi: 10.1037//0021-843x.95.3.274. No abstract available.
PubMed 3745650
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 23 Feb 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Comparing Targets of Expressive Writing
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06130020
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 15734
- Conditions
- Healthy, Anxiety, Depression
- Keywords
- expressive writing, journaling, mental health
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 160 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Trustees of Princeton UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 10 Nov 2023 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 30 Oct 2025 (actual)
- Study completion
- 30 Oct 2025 (actual)
- First posted
- 13 Nov 2023 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Expressive writing involves writing about one's deepest thoughts and feelings surrounding an emotional event. The current literature on the efficacy of expressive writing is mixed and warrants further investigation into how, when, and for whom expressive writing is an effective intervention. The goal of this study is to compare the efficacy of expressive writing interventions in young adults when people imagine that they're writing to themselves vs. a loved one. Participants will carry out an expressive writing exercise for 14 consecutive days. Participants are randomized into 3 groups: Self, Other, and Control. The Self group is instructed to write as if they were talking to themselves. The Other group is instructed to direct their writing to someone they feel close to. The Control group is asked to write down a factual description of their routine that day, and direct this writing to themselves. We will recruit participants until we have usable data from 53 participants per group (i.e., 159 in total).
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (participant)
- Number of arms
- 3
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Self | Experimental | Behavioral: Expressive Writing: SelfThe Self group is instructed to carry out the expressive writing exercise as if they were writing to themselves. |
| Other | Experimental | Behavioral: Expressive Writing: OtherThe Other group is instructed to carry out the expressive writing exercise as if they were writing to someone they feel close to. |
| Control | Placebo comparator | Behavioral: Factual WritingThe Control group is asked to write down a factual description of their routine that day, as if they were writing to themselves. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 25 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- US-based
- Fluent English
- Combined GAD-7 and PHQ-8 score of ≥ 5
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- "Completion" of a writing session requires participants to spend at least 15 minutes on the writing page. We will monitor completion of the daily writing exercise, and will contact participants who miss or spend less than 15 minutes on the exercise. Participants who fail to complete 3 consecutive daily writing sessions will be deemed non-compliant, removed from the study, and paid a prorated amount for the tasks they have completed in the study.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Expressive Writing: SelfThis intervention consists of a daily expressive writing exercise carried out for 14 consecutive days, for 15 minutes each day. Expressive writing involves asking participants to write about their deepest thoughts and feelings surrounding an emotional event. Participants in this condition will write as if they are writing to themselves. | Behavioural | Self |
| Expressive Writing: OtherThis intervention consists of a daily expressive writing exercise carried out for 14 consecutive days, for 15 minutes each day. Expressive writing involves asking participants to write about their deepest thoughts and feelings surrounding an emotional event. Participants in this condition will write as if they are writing/talking to someone they're close to. | Behavioural | Other |
| Factual WritingThis intervention consists of a daily factual writing exercise carried out for 14 consecutive days, for 15 minutes each day. Participants are asked to give a factual description of their day. This is a standard control for Expressive writing studies. Participants in this condition will be asked to direct their writing to themselves. | Behavioural | Control |
Primary outcome
Anxiety
Time frame: Initial visit (day 1), mid-point (day 7) final visit (day 15), 1-month follow-up (1 month after day 14)
Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7). Scores range from 0-21, with higher scores indicating more severe anxiety.
Depression
Time frame: Initial visit (day 1), mid-point (day 7), final visit (day 15), 1-month follow-up (1 month after day 14)
Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8). Scores range from 0-24, with higher scores indicating more severe depression.
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 23 Feb 2026.
- Background: PubMed 3745650Pennebaker JW, Beall SK. Confronting a traumatic event: toward an understanding of inhibition and disease. J Abnorm Psychol. 1986 Aug;95(3):274-81. doi: 10.1037//0021-843x.95.3.274. No abstract available.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. Upon study completion, a subset of the de-identified data will be transferred to OSF, which will provide public access to this data. Writing content will not be transferred to OSF, though we will make thoroughly de-identified data available to researchers who have completed appropriate ethics training, agree to confidentiality restrictions, and whose research goals are in line with the purpose of this study.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Erik Nook, PhD principal investigator
Princeton University
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Expressive Writing: Self, Expressive Writing: Other and Factual Writing in people with Healthy and Anxiety, run by Trustees of Princeton University at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 23 Feb 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Anxiety (time frame: Initial visit (day 1), mid-point (day 7) final visit (day 15), 1-month follow-up (1 month after day 14)). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT06130020, which also lists 1 linked publication.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 23 Feb 2026; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 30 Oct 2026.