Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Graduate Department of Clinical Psychology

First Advisor

Ken Logan, PsyD

Second Advisor

Roger Bufford, PhD

Abstract

The adverse childhood experience (ACE) questionnaire assesses the number of traumatic experiences during childhood and has been shown to predict negative health outcomes associated with more adverse events during childhood (Felitti et al., 1998; Mersky et al., 2013). While studies have examined the immediate impact of recent traumas on the individual’s physiology, few have examined the effect of administering questionnaires about past adverse events. This study utilized electrodermal activity to measure sympathetic nervous system activity while participants completed the ACE questionnaire compared to participants who completed a benign survey. Half of the ACE questionnaire participants were given a verbal prompt before completing the questionnaire. Participants who completed the ACE questionnaire without a prompt, participants who completed the ACE questionnaire with a prompt, and participants who completed the benign survey were compared by analyses of variance. Analyses found no significant differences between the three groups. Participants with low ACE scores (< 4) and high ACE scores (< 4) were compared on measures of EDA with an independent samples t-test. No significant difference was found between those with high and low ACE scores. Individuals who completed the ACE questionnaire also did not demonstrate a significant difference in their electrodermal activity while taking the questionnaire when compared with those who completed a presumably benign alternative task. These results provide no evidence that completing the ACE increased autonomic arousal. Generalizability is limited as the sample consisted of primarily White, Christian college students and only had six participants in the high ACE score group. However, the current study suggests the ACE questionnaire does not cause individuals significant distress and is psychologically safe to administer.

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