Lutgendorf S K, Antoni M H, Kumar M, Schneiderman N
Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124.
J Psychosom Res. 1994 Jan;38(1):63-78. doi: 10.1016/0022-3999(94)90009-4.
Previous research has shown that emotional disclosure of traumatic or stressful events is associated with facilitating insight into the experience, improving mood, and modulating some aspects of the immune system. The current study examined how cognitive changes and experiential involvement during an emotional disclosure induction protocol relate to immune functioning, as measured by IgG antibody titres to the Epstein-Barr virus viral capsid antigen (EBV-VCA). Seventy-six college undergraduates were randomly assigned to either a disclosure induction or an assessment-only control condition. Experimental subjects met with an experimenter for three weekly 20-min individual sessions during which time they were asked to discuss a stressful or traumatic topic which they had previously discussed only minimally with others. Blood was drawn a week prior to the first session and at one week following the third session. Subjects completed the Impact of Event Scale (IES) after session 1 and at followup, and the extent of experiential involvement in disclosure during each session was assessed by means of the Experiencing Scale. Mood was assessed before and after each disclosure using the Nowlis Mood Adjective Checklist. Although the disclosure induction did not directly affect EBV-VCA antibody titres, individual differences in subjects' ability to involve themselves in the disclosure process and abandon their avoidance of the stressful tropic during the course of the 3-wk period were predictive of antibody decrements. These associations were more pronounced for individuals who disclosed older and more troublesome events.
先前的研究表明，对创伤性或压力性事件进行情绪表露有助于深入了解自身经历、改善情绪，并调节免疫系统的某些方面。本研究考察了在情绪表露诱导方案过程中的认知变化和体验参与度与免疫功能之间的关系，免疫功能通过针对爱泼斯坦 - 巴尔病毒衣壳抗原（EBV - VCA）的IgG抗体滴度来衡量。76名大学本科生被随机分配到表露诱导组或仅进行评估的对照组。实验组的受试者与一名实验者进行了三次每周20分钟的单独会面，在此期间，他们被要求讨论一个他们之前很少与他人讨论过的压力性或创伤性话题。在第一次会面的前一周和第三次会面后的一周采集血液样本。受试者在第一次会面后和随访时完成事件影响量表（IES），并通过体验量表评估每次会面中表露时的体验参与程度。使用诺利斯情绪形容词检查表在每次表露前后评估情绪。虽然表露诱导并未直接影响EBV - VCA抗体滴度，但受试者在3周时间内参与表露过程并放弃回避压力性话题的能力的个体差异可预测抗体滴度的下降。对于那些表露更久远、更棘手事件的个体，这些关联更为明显。
