The Influence of Symptom Variation on Attention in Individuals with PTSD
Loading...
Authors
Hubbell, Isabella
Issue Date
2025-03-28
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Mental health--anxiety , Mental health--depression , Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) , Trauma history
Alternative Title
Abstract
Attentional biases have been found across a wide variety of fear and anxiety-related disorders, and specifically in individuals with trauma history. Eye-tracking was used to examine attentional biases during scene and image viewing in individuals with trauma history (TH) compared to trauma-free controls (TFCs). Past research demonstrates that individuals with TH move their eyes in ways distinct from TFCs, however, the literature is divided about whether TH individuals’ attentional bias is characterized by avoidance or fixation when viewing threatening stimuli. TH is often comorbid with anxious and depressive symptoms. Previous research suggests that anxiety- and fear-related disorders are often characterized by visual avoidance of threatening stimuli. Depressive disorders, however, are characterized by difficulty in disengaging from distressing cognitions and emotions, which is also supported by eye-tracking research suggesting depressed individuals tend to fixate on negative stimuli. The current study hypothesized (a) Individuals with PTSD would display enhanced detection of threat compared to trauma-free controls; (b) Individuals with greater depressive/ruminative symptoms would be more likely to fixate on threatening stimuli; and (c) Individuals with greater anxiety symptoms would be more likely to avoid. While no support was found for these hypotheses, this study may serve as the basis for further research into a new and largely unexplored topic.
Description
Citation
Publisher
Washburn University