This study examines how adolescents with trauma-related symptoms respond to stress and strong emotions. The study assesses brain activity, physiological responses, and behavior during experimental tasks that involve responding to potential threats, regulating emotions, and repeatedly imagining details of a personally experienced stressful or traumatic event using a script-driven imagery task. The study evaluates whether repeated imaginal exposure is associated with changes in anxiety and physiological responses across sessions, and whether baseline patterns of threat reactivity and emotion regulation are associated with individual differences in response to the exposure task. Outcomes include self-reported anxiety, subjective distress ratings, and psychophysiological indices such as heart rate, skin conductance, and electromyographic activity. The goal of this research is to improve understanding of biobehavioral processes related to trauma exposure in adolescents and to identify potential predictors of response to exposure-based intervention components relevant to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Age range
14 Years – 18 Years
Sex
ALL
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AI-rewrites the medical criteria so a patient or caregiver can understand them. Always confirm with the trial site.
Bring these to your next appointment. They're a starting point for a shared conversation — not a sign you qualify or a recommendation to enrol.
Generated to help you prepare — always confirm anything about your own eligibility and care with the study team and your doctor.
The trial coordinator is the person who runs the study day to day. These cover the practical side — logistics, costs, and what taking part would actually mean for your life. The study team confirms whether you meet the criteria; these are questions to ask, not a sign you qualify.
A starting point for the conversation — always confirm anything about your own eligibility, costs, and care with the study team and your doctor.
State Anxiety (State and Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children - State Scale)
Timeframe: Baseline (Visit 1, prior to first script-driven imagery task) and 1 week after baseline (Visit 2, following repeated imaginal exposure)
Corrugator Supercilii Electromyography (EMG) Reactivity
Timeframe: During script-driven imagery tasks at baseline (Visit 1) and 1 week after baseline (Visit 2)
Heart Rate Reactivity During Script-Driven Imagery
Timeframe: During script-driven imagery tasks at baseline (Visit 1) and 1 week after baseline (Visit 2)
Skin Conductance Reactivity During Script-Driven Imagery
Timeframe: During script-driven imagery tasks at baseline (Visit 1) and 1 week after baseline (Visit 2)
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms (UCLA PTSD Reaction Index for DSM-5)
Timeframe: Baseline (Visit 1) and 1 month after baseline (Visit 3)