Keywords

Adolescent Psychology; Autonomic Nervous System; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Stress, Physiological; Stress, Psychological

Research group(s)

• Stress in Childhood and Adolescence (SCAR-Unit)
  Head: Oswald D. Kothgassner
  Research Area: Child and Adolescent Psychology and Psychiatry, Stress Mechanisms, Psychoneuroendocrinology, Virtual Reality, Ecological Momentary Assessments, Neuroscience
  Members:
  Adelais Reichmann
  Oswald D. Kothgassner
  Bettina Pfeffer
  Diana Klinger

Research interests

As a PhD student, my main research focus is stress and stress-related disorders. I am particularly interested in the underlying stress mechanisms in psychopathologies such as PTSD and NSSI. The aim of my dissertation is to offer insight into trigger factors for NSSI and NSSI-related autonomic reactivity. To investigate this topic, I am working with EMA and Eye-Tracking technologies as well as hormonal, physiological and psychological stress measures.

Selected publications

1. Kothgassner, O.D. et al. (2021) ‘Habituation of salivary cortisol and cardiovascular reactivity to a repeated real-life and virtual reality Trier Social Stress Test’, Physiology & Behavior, 242, p. 113618. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2021.113618.