Faculty Sponsor
Carissa L. Philippi
Final Abstract for URS Program
Exposure to trauma may alter self-agency, or the sense that one can influence outcomes and exert control over life circumstances. The present study examined whether the timing and severity of traumatic experiences are associated with perceived self-agency across development. Based on prior research, we tested whether trauma occurring earlier in life would be associated with lower self-agency than trauma occurring later, and whether greater trauma severity would be associated with further reductions in perceived control. Participants were 116 trauma-exposed adults (38 male; 78 female) who reported trauma exposure using the Life Stressor Checklist. Trauma variables included age at earliest trauma, age at most severe trauma, and trauma severity. Self-agency was measured using a behavioral task assessing perceived control across five task conditions. Repeated-measures general linear models were used to examine differences in self-agency across conditions and the extent to which trauma characteristics predicted overall self-agency and condition-related variation. Preliminary findings indicated that self-agency differed significantly across task conditions. Ongoing analyses will test whether developmental timing of trauma, particularly earliest exposure, is more strongly associated with self-agency than timing of the most severe event.
Presentation Type
Visual Presentation
Document Type
Article