TY - JOUR
T1 - Disclosure of traumas and health among holocaust survivors
AU - Pennebaker, J. W.
AU - Barger, S. D.
AU - Tiebout, J.
PY - 1989
Y1 - 1989
N2 - On the basis of a theory of inhibition and psychosomatics, it was predicted that the more individuals disclosed personally traumatic experiences, the better their long-term health following the disclosure. Thirty-three Holocaust survivors talked for 1-2 hours about their personal experiences during World War II while skin conductance level (SCL) and heart rate (HR) were continuously monitored. Each videotaped interview was rated by independent judges once every minute on the degree to which the survivor's experience was traumatic. For each subject, the trauma ratings were correlated with minute-by-minute SCL and HR readings. Based on previous research, negative trauma-SCL correlations are indicative of high personal disclosure, whereas positive trauma-SCL correlations suggest low disclosure. Approximately 14 months after the interview, self-reports of the subjects' health were collected. Controlling for pre-interview health problems, degree of disclosure during the interview was found to be positively correlated with long-term health after the interview. The possible health benefits of disclosure are discussed.
AB - On the basis of a theory of inhibition and psychosomatics, it was predicted that the more individuals disclosed personally traumatic experiences, the better their long-term health following the disclosure. Thirty-three Holocaust survivors talked for 1-2 hours about their personal experiences during World War II while skin conductance level (SCL) and heart rate (HR) were continuously monitored. Each videotaped interview was rated by independent judges once every minute on the degree to which the survivor's experience was traumatic. For each subject, the trauma ratings were correlated with minute-by-minute SCL and HR readings. Based on previous research, negative trauma-SCL correlations are indicative of high personal disclosure, whereas positive trauma-SCL correlations suggest low disclosure. Approximately 14 months after the interview, self-reports of the subjects' health were collected. Controlling for pre-interview health problems, degree of disclosure during the interview was found to be positively correlated with long-term health after the interview. The possible health benefits of disclosure are discussed.
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U2 - 10.1097/00006842-198909000-00009
DO - 10.1097/00006842-198909000-00009
M3 - Article
C2 - 2798704
AN - SCOPUS:0024427358
SN - 0033-3174
VL - 51
SP - 577
EP - 589
JO - Psychosomatic Medicine
JF - Psychosomatic Medicine
IS - 5
ER -