Sarah M C Robertson

• PhD
• Professor at College of Charleston

Objective Meta-analyses assessing the efficacy of expressive writing (EW) interventions have produced mixed results. The current study aimed to assess the efficacy of an EW intervention in the reduction of anxiety symptoms in first-year college students. In an effort to understand more about moderating variables that influence EW outcomes, the curr...

Introduction: The first year of college can be particularly difficult for students, as they typically face a number of emotional, developmental, social, and financial challenges. Expressive writing (EW) is a writing intervention that requires participants to write about their thoughts and feelings related to a particular event over several days. Me...

Objectives: Researchers have been attempting to understand the variables that predict differences in autobiographical narratives, given that these differences often reveal important information about the psychological characteristics of the person providing the narrative. Method: A sample of young adults (n = 80) and older adults (n = 80) completed...

In recent years there has been increased focus on evaluating the efficacy of psychosocial interventions for cancer patients. Among the several limitations inherent to these programs of research, few studies have targeted patients with well-diagnosed clinical depression and little is known about factors that best predict treatment outcome and attrit...

Major depression is the most common psychiatric disorder among breast cancer patients and is associated with substantial impairment. Although some research has explored the utility of psychotherapy with breast cancer patients, only 2 small trials have investigated the potential benefits of behavior therapy among patients with well-diagnosed depress...

Objective: The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been associated with increased levels of distress for college students. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a COVID-focused expressive writing intervention in reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and distress. Methods: A total of 169 college students were assigned either...

Introduction: There are mixed data in the literature regarding the efficacy of expressive writing (EW) interventions. The current study utilized a waitlist control design to assess whether symptom change occurred during a waitlist period and an intervention period. We also assessed the potential relationship between initial anxiety symptom severity...

Higher levels of depression and anxiety are associated with the transition to college, during which students must adapt to an unfamiliar environment while managing new personal and academic responsibilities. The ability to forgive people and situations is crucial to dealing with adverse events like the college transition. We hypothesized that expre...

Higher levels of depression and anxiety are associated with the transition to college, during which students must adapt to an unfamiliar environment while managing new personal and academic responsibilities. We hypothesized that expressive writing (uncensored personal narrative) would help students make sense of their stress and improve their menta...

Researchers have suggested that empathy may serve to explain, at least in part, the relationship between gender and forgiveness. Some findings in the literature have supported this claim, while other studies have not. Accounting for the variable of age might help to explain these inconsistencies, as age has been found to influence the expression of...

Objectives: Physiological reactivity (PR) describes the change in physiological functioning (e.g., heart rate, blood pressure, pulse pressure) that occurs after the induction of a stressful task. This study aims to understand the influence of mental health symptoms on patterns of PR during autobiographical narratives in an older adult sample. Met...

People communicate personal stories in very different ways. These variations in communication patterns may be affected by many variables, particularly age. Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (SST) predicts young adults are focused on information gathering to function in society, whereas older adults become increasingly motivated to regulate emotions...

Many patients who receive cognitive-behavioral therapy experience sudden gains that are associated with improved treatment response and decreased risk of relapse. Extending prior research, this study examined sudden gains among depressed cancer patients receiving brief (9-session) behavioral activation therapy. Fifty percent of patients experienced...

Experiential avoidance (EA) is the unwillingness to remain in contact with particular private experiences, and higher levels of EA are associated with increased psychopathology. This study explored relationships between EA, age, and the use of emotion words in positive and negative autobiographical narratives. Participants included younger (n = 60)...

Major depression is the most common psychiatric disorder among cancer patients and is associated with decreased quality of life, significant deterioration in recreational and physical activities, relationship difficulties, sleep problems, more rapidly progressing cancer symptoms, and more metastasis and pain relative to nondepressed cancer patients...

Clinical depression is the most common psychiatric disorder among cancer patients and is associated with significant functional impairment. Unfortunately, depression in cancer patients is often under- diagnosed and untreated, and studies examining the predictive utility of assessment instruments in detecting clinically depressed cancer patients are...

Accumulating data suggest that behavioral activation interventions may be an effective approach to treating clinical depression. Given the high comorbidity and construct overlap between anxiety and mood disorders, a conceptually and methodologically integrated intervention that addresses symptoms of both conditions is indicated.As a means to this e...