Psychophysiological Predictors of Change in Emotion Dysregulation 6 Months after Traumatic Injury

Authors

Jacklynn M. Fitzgerald, Marquette UniversityFollow
Sydney Clare Timmer-Murillo, Medical College of Wisconsin
Claire Sheeran, Marquette University
Hailey Begg, Marquette University
Morgan Christoph, Marquette University
Terri A deRoon-Cassini, Medical College of Wisconsin
Christine L. Larson, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-2022

Publisher

Elsevier

Source Publication

International Journal of Psychophysiology

Source ISSN

0167-8760

Original Item ID

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2022.01.005

Abstract

Emotional dysregulation that occurs after trauma conveys risk for multiple disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety. Psychophysiological data (e.g., skin conductance level [SCL]) may be a useful biomarker for quantifying emotion dysregulation given that autonomic nervous system (ANS)-mediated arousal may underlie this feature. In this longitudinal study, we tested whether SCL collected following a single-incident traumatic injury could predict changes in emotion dysregulation over 6 months. Sixty-six adults were recruited from the emergency department; SCL was quantified during an active trauma narrative, in which participants re-told their traumatic event to a research staff member, as well as a neutral narrative for a control condition. Change in SCL (ΔSCL) was calculated using a maximum activation – minimum activation difference score. Multilevel linear modeling was used to test ΔSCL as a predictor of emotion dysregulation using the Emotion Dysregulation Scale (EDS) over time (3 timepoints over 6 months). Results showed that greater ΔSCL – indicative of increasing arousal– during both the trauma (p = 0.037) and neutral (p = 0.013) narratives was a significant predictor of greater emotion dysregulation at each subsequent timepoint. Further, we found a ΔSCL by time interaction, such that less ΔSCL during the neutral narrative predicted decreased emotion dysregulation over time (b = −1.26, SE = 0.43, t = −2.91, p = 0.004). Results validate the use of lab-based assessments of arousal to study emotion dysregulation in trauma survivors. That recovery from emotion dysregulation was predicted by less arousal during a neutral event underscores the importance of clinically targeting response to safety in trauma survivors.

Comments

Accepted version. International Journal of Psychophysiology, Vol. 173 (March 2022): 29-37. DOI. © 2022 Elsevier. Used with permission.

Recommended Citation

Fitzgerald, Jacklynn M.; Timmer-Murillo, Sydney Clare; Sheeran, Claire; Begg, Hailey; Christoph, Morgan; deRoon-Cassini, Terri A; and Larson, Christine L., "Psychophysiological Predictors of Change in Emotion Dysregulation 6 Months after Traumatic Injury" (2022). Psychology Faculty Research and Publications. 562.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/psych_fac/562