The Impact of a Self-Distanced Writing Intervention on Social Anxiety Among College Freshmen: The Mediating Roles of Cognitive Reappraisal and Self-Compassion.

Authors

Shuoan Yang, BoKai Yang

Published in

Psychology research and behavior management. Volume 19. Pages 640605. Epub Oct 12, 2026.

Abstract

Social anxiety is common during the transition to university, creating a need for brief, accessible psychological interventions. Traditional expressive writing has shown benefits for anxiety, but its emotionally immersive first-person format may be less suitable for some students. Self-distanced writing offers an alternative by encouraging reflection from an observer-like perspective.
We examined whether a four-week self-distanced writing intervention reduced social anxiety more than traditional expressive writing or neutral writing, and whether cognitive reappraisal and self-compassion would mediate any observed advantage.
In a three-arm, assessor-blind randomized controlled trial, 187 first-year students with Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale-Self-Report (LSAS-SR) scores ≥38 were randomly assigned to self-distanced writing (SDW; n=63), traditional expressive writing (EW; n=62), or neutral writing (NW; n=62). Each group completed eight supervised 20-minute sessions over four weeks. We assessed social anxiety, cognitive reappraisal, and self-compassion at baseline, one week after the intervention, and at the one-month follow-up.
Social anxiety decreased over time, with different trajectories across groups. SDW did not differ significantly from EW at the one-week post-intervention assessment, but at the one-month follow-up it showed greater reductions in social anxiety than both EW and NW. Increased self-compassion helped explain the difference between SDW and EW, whereas cognitive reappraisal did not. Neither process helped explain the difference between SDW and NW.
A four-week SDW intervention was associated with greater reductions in social anxiety at the one-month follow-up. The findings suggest that self-compassion may be particularly relevant to how SDW differs from traditional expressive writing. Longer follow-up and further evaluation in university settings are needed.

PMID:
42892959
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 18 Oct 2026.

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