Words matter: The use of generic “you” in expressive writing in an oncology setting

Abstract

The use of generic “you” (GY) in writing samples fosters psychological distancing and functions as a linguistic mechanism to facilitate emotion regulation. This method of creating psychological distance from the traumatic experience of cancer may be used by patients processing emotions. We used behavioral coding to analyze expressive writing samples collected from 138 cancer patients to examine the association between the use of “you” and cancer-related symptoms and psychological outcomes. Occurrences of GY were low, but our qualitative results showed how the use of GY could create a universal experience of cancer. The use of GY was not associated with cancer-related symptoms and depressive symptoms, but longitudinal analyses revealed that those using GY had fewer intrusive thoughts and avoidance behaviors across the follow-up period of 1, 4, and 10 months after the intervention. The development of psychological self-distancing prompts to use in writing interventions or as a clinical tool for cancer patients should be explored.