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Journaling’s Effect on Stress Reduction: A Quantitative Survey Investigation
Location: 21
Mentor: Dr. Tim Watson
Globally, stress is a widespread problem that affects both mental and physical health. According to the University of Rochester’s article titled “Journaling for Emotional Wellness,” journaling is frequently suggested as a coping strategy because of its possible advantages in stress management and enhancing mental health. However, there is still a limit of empirical data supporting journaling’s effectiveness as a stress-reduction strategy. This study aims to contribute to the expanding corpus of research on stress management strategies by examining whether frequent journaling is linked to lower stress levels.
Twenty-seven people–friends and family of the researchers participated in the survey by receiving an email to fill out a curated Qualtrics survey; 23 people were left for analysis after incomplete data was removed. The frequency of journaling, stress levels (as assessed by a 5-point Likert scale), and perceived advantages of journaling were all reported by the participants. A t-test: A two-sample assuming equal variances was used to examine the stress levels of journalers (n = 9) and non-journalers (n = 14) and the relationship between stress levels and journaling frequency was evaluated. Themes pertaining to the motivations behind journaling and its effects on stress and well-being were also examined in the open-ended responses.
Participants’ average stress level was 2.81 (SD = 0.89), and 40.91% said they kept a journal on a regular basis. With a p-value of 0.009539, showing a statistically significant difference, the t-test comparison showed that journalers reported considerably lower stress levels (M = 2.42, SD = 0.75) than non-journalers (M = 3.14, SD = 0.89). Stress levels and journaling frequency were found to be negatively correlated (r = -0.19, p = 0.19), indicating a weak inverse association. According to open-ended responses (“What are the main reasons you journal?” and “If you don’t journal, what are the main reasons stopping you?”), the main motivations for journaling were emotional clarity (7 participants), managing thoughts (3 participants), and stress relief (2 participants). Lack of time (8 participants) and lack of motivation (4 participants) were also identified as typical obstacles to journaling. Stress alleviation (2 participants) and mental clarity (3 participants) were commonly cited as benefits of journaling.
