Webcam-based attention-bias markers of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Ukrainian active-duty military personnel

This project evaluates whether the attention-bias (AB) test, implemented through a webcam-based eye tracking methodology, can provide markers of PTSD in Ukrainian active-duty military personnel. The motivating problem is practical: mental-health screening in active-duty contexts is difficult to conduct reliably at scale, and routine reliance on self-report can be compromised by low engagement and response distortion. The proposed approach targets this gap by leveraging AB processes (sustained attention to threat, disengagement difficulty, and trial-to-trial dynamics) measured via webcam-based gaze data rather than laboratory-grade eye trackers. The study uses a cross-sectional design with data collected from N = 30 soldiers undergoing rehabilitation at the “Forest Glade” hospital in Kyiv prior to redeployment. PTSD (and complex PTSD) status and severity are assessed using a clinician-administered International Trauma Interview (ITI), with medication recorded to support sensitivity and moderation analyses. The experimental task is a webcam-based attentional-bias eye-tracking procedure using a PTSD-relevant stimulus set developed for this context (combat-related imagery, soldier images, emotional faces, military vehicles, and ambiguous anxiety-provoking scenes). The task is designed to extract interpretable gaze metrics that can be feasibly computed from webcam gaze coordinates (e.g., dwell time allocation and related indices), with the broader translational aim of making screening possible with minimal hardware – potentially only a laptop and stable internet connection.