Impact of Expressive Writing on Affect, Psychological Distress, and Quality of Life of Breast Cancer Survivors in Pakistan

Authors

  • Sadia Sultan MS Scholar, Department of Psychology, Forman Christian College (A Chatered University), Lahore, Pakistan. https://orcid.org/0009-0000-7119-658X
  • Elizabeth Maria Schwaiger Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Forman Christian College (A Chatered University), Lahore, Pakistan.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52053/jpap.v6i2.248

Keywords:

Anxiety, Cancer, Depression, Expressive Writing, Oncology, Stress, Wellbeing

Abstract

In this experimental study, effectiveness of expressive writing was assessed on affect, psychological distress and quality of life of survivors of breast cancer in Pakistan. To evaluate this impact, seventy-two breast cancer survivors who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were recruited from oncology clinics of Lahore, Pakistan. Participants completed the baseline assessment including The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) and WHOQOL BREF.The participants were assigned to experimental and control groups. The expressive writing group had 35 participants (EW) and the control group had 37 participants. After 4 weeks, the same measures were completed by the experimental and control group participants for the post assessment. A debriefing session was also conducted following data analysis. The control group participants were provided with the option to engage in the expressive writing task. The results of the MANOVA suggest that the writing intervention had significant positive effects on the dependent variables including depression, anxiety, stress, affect and quality of life. These results suggest that the expressive writing intervention facilitated the breast cancer survivors to overcome some of the psycho-social costs associated with cancer survivorship.

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Published

2025-06-30

How to Cite

Sultan, S., & Schwaiger, E. M. (2025). Impact of Expressive Writing on Affect, Psychological Distress, and Quality of Life of Breast Cancer Survivors in Pakistan. Journal of Professional & Applied Psychology, 6(2), 109–118. https://doi.org/10.52053/jpap.v6i2.248