Profile
My research focuses on the differences between acute trauma, such as an auto accident or single-incident assault, and chronic trauma, such as sustained physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. My lab investigates how information processes, especially attention and cognition, are impacted by prolonged trauma exposure and re-shaped through therapeutic interventions. I am also particularly interested in the physiological signature of chronic trauma, and the ways in which it differs from the signature of acute trauma. We use measures of autonomic reactivity such as heart rate, skin conductance, and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), to investigate these differences. For more information, please visit the Trauma and Affective Psychophysiology Lab's website.
Degrees Held
PhD 2008, University of Michigan
Recent Publications
Rabellino, D., D'Andrea, W., Siegle, G., Frewen, P.A., Minshew, R., Densmore, M., Neufeld, R.W., Théberge, J., McKinnon, M.C., Lanius, R.A. (2017). Neural correlates of heart rate variability in PTSD during sub- and supraliminal processing of trauma-related cues. Human Brain Mapping, 38(10), 4898-4907.
D'Andrea, Wendy & Graham-Berman, S (2016). Social Context and Violence Exposure as Predictors of Internalizing Symptoms in Mothers and Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence. Journal of Family Violence, 8(11), 1-11.
Siegle, Greg J; D'Andrea, W, Jones, N., Hallquist, M., Stepp, S., Fortunato, A., Morse, J., & Pilkonis, P. (2015) Prolonged physiological reactivity and loss: Association of pupillary reactivity with negative thinking and feelings. International Journal of Psychophysiology 98(2), 310-320.
Freed, Steven; D'Andrea, W. (2015). Autonomic arousal and emotion in victims of interpersonal violence: shame proneness but not anxiety predicts vagal tone Journal of Trauma and Dissociation, 16(4), 367-383.
Minshew, Reese; D'Andrea, W. (2015). Implicit and explicit memory in survivors of chronic interpersonal violence. Psychological trauma: theory, research, practice, and policy. 7(1) 67 2015.
Seng, J., D’Andrea, W. & Ford, J. (2014). Complex trauma symptomotology in a sample of pregnant women. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy, 6(1), 41-49.
Doukas, Ashley, D'Andrea, W., Doran, J., & Pole, N. (2014). Psychophysiological Predictors of Working Alliance Among Treatment-Seeking Women With Complex Trauma Exposure. Journal of traumatic stress 27(6) 672-679.
D’Andrea, W., Pole, N., +DePierro, J., +Freed, S & Wallace, B.D. (2013). Heterogeneity of defensive responses after exposure to trauma: Blunted autonomic reactivity in response to startling sounds. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 90(1), 80-89.
D’Andrea, W., Bergholz, L., +Fortunato, A. & Spinazzola, J. (2013). Play to the Whistle: A pilot investigation of a sports-based intervention for traumatized girls in residential treatment. Journal of Family Violence, 28(7), 739-749.
DePierro, J., D’Andrea, W. & Pole, N. (2013). Attentional biases in female survivors of chronic interpersonal violence: Relationship to PTSD symptoms and physiology. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 4.
D’Andrea, W. & Pole, N. (2012). A naturalistic study of the relation of psychotherapy process to changes in symptoms, information processing and physiological activity in complex trauma. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy, 4(4), 438-446.
D’Andrea, W., Chiu, P., King, B., & Deldin, P. (2012). Linguistic predictors of PTSD symptoms following the 9/11 Attacks. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 26(2), 316-323.
D’Andrea, W., Ford, J., Stolbach, B., Spinazzola, J. & van der Kolk, B.A. (2012). Understanding interpersonal trauma in children: What we’ve learned since the DSM-IV, and why a developmental trauma disorder diagnosis is needed in future DSMs. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 82(2), 187-200.
D’Andrea, W., Sharma, R., Zelchowski, A. & Spinazzola, J. (2011). Physical health problems after single trauma exposure: When stress takes root in the body. American Journal of Psychiatric Nursing, 17(6), 378-392.
van der Kolk, B.A. & D’Andrea, W. Towards a Developmental Trauma Disorder Diagnosis for childhood interpersonal trauma. In R. Lanius, E.Vermetten & C. Pain (Eds). The Impact of Early Life Trauma on Health and Disease: The Hidden Epidemic (London: Cambridge University Press, 2010).
D’Andrea, W., Chiu, P., King, B., & Deldin, P. (2010). Linguistic Predictors of PTSD Symptoms Following the 9/11 Attacks. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 26(2), 316-23.
Peterson, C., Park, N., Pole, N. D’Andrea, W. & Seligman, M.E.P. (2008). Strengths of character and posttraumatic growth. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 21(2), 214-217.
Pole, N., Cumberbatch, E., Taylor, W., Metzler, T., Marmar, C. & Neylan, T. (2005). Comparisons between high and low peritraumatic dissociators in cardiovascular and emotional activity while remembering trauma. Journal of Trauma and Dissociation, 6(4), 51-67.
D’Andrea, W., Pole, N. & Odera, L. (2005). Trauma, alexithymia and PTSD symptoms: Does gender matter? Depression and Anxiety, 22(4), 242.