Experimental disclosure and its moderators: A meta-analysis.

Disclosing information, thoughts, and feelings about personal and meaningful topics (experimental disclosure) is purported to have various health and psychological consequences (e.g., J. W. Pennebaker, 1993). Although the results of 2 small meta-analyses (P. G. Frisina, J. C. Borod, & S. J. Lepore, 2004; J. M. Smyth, 1998) suggest that experimental disclosure has a positive and significant effect, both used a fixed effects approach, limiting generalizability. Also, a plethora of studies on experimental disclosure have been completed that were not included in the previous analyses. One hundred forty-six randomized studies of experimental disclosure were collected and included in the present meta-analysis. Results of random effects analyses indicate that experimental disclosure is effective, with a positive and significant average r-effect size of .075. In addition, a number of moderators were identified. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Opening up in the classroom: Effects of expressive writing on graduate school entrance exam performance.

Our study sought to determine whether experimental disclosure could improve exam performance and psychological health in students taking a graduate school entrance exam. Students preparing for the GRE, MCAT, LSAT, or PCAT were randomly assigned to write expressively about their upcoming exam or to a neutral writing condition. Participants completed measures of depressive symptoms and test anxiety before and after writing, and exam scores were collected. The experimental disclosure group had significantly higher test scores and significantly lower pre-exam depressive symptoms than the neutral writing group. Although benefits for depressive symptoms were found in expressive writers regardless of exam type, the advantage of expressive writing for test performance was only observed in students taking the MCAT or LSAT. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Substernal goiter: new diagnostic methods and treatment

The authors report 47 cases of substernal goiters operated between 1971 and 1990. Forty-five patients had mediastinal-cervical-goiters (g.c.m.) and 2 had ectopic goiter (g.e.). Cervicotomy was performed in the 45 g.c.m., in 3 cases associated with sternal "split". The g.e. were treated with thoracotomy. Computed Tomography (TC) has been performed since 1984 in 26 patients; Magnetic Resonance (RM) since 1987 in 6 patients. The diagnostic accuracy for TC was 84.6% and 100% for MR on anatomical-topographic-definition, and 80.8% and 83.3% for presumptive diagnosis of nature, respectively. Considering the high diagnostic accuracy, the possibility to reconstruct the images in sagittal and coronal planes, the RM seems to be the elective diagnostic procedure for all substernal goiters.