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. 2022 Mar:150:104036.
doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2022.104036. Epub 2022 Jan 10.

Associations between children's trauma-related sequelae and skin conductance captured through mobile technology

Charis N Wiltshire  1 , Cassandra P Wanna  2 , Anaïs F Stenson  1 , Sean T Minton  3 , Mariam H Reda  1 , William M Davie  1 , Rebecca Hinrichs  3 , Sterling Winters  1 , John M France  1 , Tanja Jovanovic  1
Affiliations

Associations between children's trauma-related sequelae and skin conductance captured through mobile technology

Charis N Wiltshire et al. Behav Res Ther. 2022 Mar.

Abstract

Although many children experience trauma, few receive diagnoses and subsequent care despite experiencing trauma-related sequelae. At age nine (M = 9.11), children (N = 62; female = 46.4%) who predominantly identified as Black (78.7%) were enrolled in this first study examining how skin conductance as captured by mobile technology, eSense, related to children's traumatic experiences and trauma-related symptoms. Skin conductance measures were associated with degree of trauma exposure and PTSD hyperarousal symptoms. These findings suggest that physiological responses in addition to self-report measures may be easily used to assess children's trauma exposure and symptoms. Given eSense's ease-of-use, this technology could assist clinics and research institutions assess children's trauma-related needs.

Keywords: Assessment/diagnosis; Child/adolescent; Computer/internet technology; Cost-effectiveness; Ethnicity/race; Life events/stress; PTSD/Posttraumatic stress disorder; Trauma.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Statement

Charis N. Wiltshire has no conflicts of interest to report.

Cassandra P. Wanna has no conflicts of interest to report.

Anaïs F. Stenson has no conflicts of interest to report.

Sean T. Minton has no conflicts of interest to report.

Mariam H. Reda has no conflicts of interest to report.

William M. Davie has no conflicts of interest to report.

Rebecca Hinrichs has no conflicts of interest to report.

Sterling Winters has no conflicts of interest to report.

John M. France has no conflicts of interest to report.

Tanja Jovanovic has no conflicts of interest to report.

Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:
SCL varies greatly according to interview timepoint. (a) Mean SCL during interview baseline, maximum SCL, and mean SCL at the end of interview (±1 SE), F(2,110)= 32.07, p < .001. (b) Example eSense SCL of a child with high and low trauma exposure during the TESI-C interview. ***: p < .001
Figure 1:
Figure 1:
SCL varies greatly according to interview timepoint. (a) Mean SCL during interview baseline, maximum SCL, and mean SCL at the end of interview (±1 SE), F(2,110)= 32.07, p < .001. (b) Example eSense SCL of a child with high and low trauma exposure during the TESI-C interview. ***: p < .001
Figure 2:
Figure 2:
SCL relates to both trauma exposure and trauma-related symptoms. (a) SCR (trauma interview maximum minus baseline) was significantly correlated with the total number of traumatic events reported by children during the TESI-C interview, r(55) = .30, p = .023 (The jamovi project, 2021). (b) PTSD Hyperarousal symptoms as recorded on the UCLA-RI were significantly correlated with SCL habituation (trauma interview maximum minus trauma interview end) during the TESI-C interview, r(54) = .30, p = .016 (The jamovi project, 2021).
Figure 2:
Figure 2:
SCL relates to both trauma exposure and trauma-related symptoms. (a) SCR (trauma interview maximum minus baseline) was significantly correlated with the total number of traumatic events reported by children during the TESI-C interview, r(55) = .30, p = .023 (The jamovi project, 2021). (b) PTSD Hyperarousal symptoms as recorded on the UCLA-RI were significantly correlated with SCL habituation (trauma interview maximum minus trauma interview end) during the TESI-C interview, r(54) = .30, p = .016 (The jamovi project, 2021).
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