Search

SUMMARY Previous research has documented the beneficial effects of expressive narrative writing, and especially the inclusion of cognitive processing and emotion words, for alleviating stress. In this study, 65 mostly white Emory University undergraduates of Judeo-Christian backgrounds recalled their emotional reaction upon hearing the news of 9/11 within 2 months of the event, and again one month and 6 months later. Between the initial and one month assessment, participants engaged in expressive writing for 20 minutes a day for 5 consecutive days. Individuals who had higher personal involvement in the events of 9/11, through knowing someone who was killed or having lived in the affected areas, recalled being more shocked and upset upon hearing the news across time, and used fewer cognitive processing and positive emotion words in their narratives, than those with no direct involvement. Individuals who used more cognitive processing and emotion words in their narratives subsequently recalled being less shocked and upset upon hearing the news. Implications of these finding for emotional memory and emotional regulation are discussed. Copyright # 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Parent-child reminiscing about negative experiences influences children's developing "emotional self-concept", which comprises three interrelated functions: self-defining (this is the kind of emotional person I am), self-in-relation (this is how I express and share my emotions with others), and coping (this is how I cope with and resolve negative emotion). In this study, we examined how 70 mostly white, middle-class mothers discuss three negative experiences (fear, anger, and sadness) with their 4-year-old children. Conversations about fear elaborate on the facts of the event and emotional resolutions, thus focusing on coping. Conversations about sadness contain evaluative feedback and emotional resolutions, thus focusing on self-in-relation and coping. Finally, conversations about anger highlight the emotional state itself, thus focusing on self-definition. Mothers are also more elaborative and more evaluative with daughters than with sons, and place emotional events in a more interpersonal context with daughters than sons. Thus girls may be forming a more elaborated and more interpersonal emotional self-concept than boys.