Master of Arts, University of Toledo, 2018, Psychology - Clinical

Numerous investigations of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)'s psychophysiology have been conducted since the inception of the disorder as a mental health concern. Through these investigations, a distinct physiological profile has emerged that characterizes the experiences of trauma-exposed individuals who develop PTSD, suggesting a theory of autonomic rigidity. These studies often explored this theory through measures of cardiovagal activity or skin conductance, although rarely are these methodologies combined to form a complete understanding of the autonomic system through separate and combined branches. Through these investigations, the overwhelming majority have solely targeted the hyperarousal and re-experiencing symptoms that are often thought to characterize PTSD by employing fear-based and/or trauma-related stimuli, such as a startle response paradigm or trauma script. Further development and study of the symptoms that characterize PTSD have found other negative, non-fear-based symptoms, such as externalizing behaviors and anhedonic behaviors, are similarly important in diagnostic assessment of the disorder; however, there have been few physiological investigations of non-fear emotional states related to these diagnostic behaviors within PTSD. The present study aimed to contribute to this gap in literature by employing a mixed within- and between-subjects design to examine the effect non-fear negative emotional stimuli on trauma-exposed individuals with PTSD symptoms, compared to healthy controls. Two film clips targeted to elicit anger and sadness, respectively, were selected from a previous attempt to compile a standardized series of emotionally-evocative film clips (Gross & Levenson, 1995). Data were collected from an undergraduate college sample at a Midwestern University, with a final effective sample size of N=64. Within-between ANOVAs were conducted on each of the three dependent variables, heart rate variability, tonic skin conductance level, and (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jon Elhai PhD (Committee Chair); Jason Levine PhD (Committee Member); Matthew Tull PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology