Differential health effects of written processing of the experience of a surgical operation in high- and low-risk conditions

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of the writing technique on postoperative course in interaction with different levels of risk. Participants were 40 urologic inpatients waiting to undergo transurethral resection of the prostate, with different levels of surgical risk as assessed with...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of clinical psychology 2007-04, Vol.63 (4), p.357-369
Main Authors: Solano, Luigi, Pepe, Luisa, Donati, Valentina, Persichetti, Stefano, Laudani, Guido, Colaci, Andrea
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Anxiety - psychology
Biological and medical sciences
Clinical outcomes
Clinical psychology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Illness and personality
Illness, stress and coping
Inpatient care
Italy
Male
Middle Aged
Outcome Assessment (Health Care)
Postoperative Period
Psychology and medicine
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Risk
Risk assessment
Stress, Psychological - psychology
Surgery
Urologic Surgical Procedures, Male - psychology
Writing
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Summary:The aim of this study was to assess the effects of the writing technique on postoperative course in interaction with different levels of risk. Participants were 40 urologic inpatients waiting to undergo transurethral resection of the prostate, with different levels of surgical risk as assessed with the Goldman Preoperative Risk Index (L. Goldman et al., 1978). Only 20 participants wrote for 3 days about the experience of being in the hospital. Measures were days of stay in the hospital after the operation, the Symptom Check List (SCL‐90; L. R. Derogatis, 1977; Italian version: G. Magni, C. Messina, D. De Leo, A. Mosconi, & M. Carli, 1983) scores, and a medical evaluation of postoperative course. A significant positive effect of writing on all three dependent variables emerged only in low‐risk participants. High‐risk writing participants showed a nonsignificantly worse postoperative course on all parameters than did high‐risk nonwriting participants. In highly stressful conditions, writing therefore should be employed only with caution. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 63: 357–369, 2007.
ISSN:0021-9762
1097-4679
DOI:10.1002/jclp.20355