Pre-war induced theta oscillations moderate adolescents' psychological responses to war exposure

Adolescents exposed to war face heightened risk for psychological difficulties, yet outcomes vary widely, underscoring the need to identify neurocognitive mechanisms of resilience and vulnerability. Error monitoring, a core facet of cognitive control, may play a critical role in shaping responses to real-world stressors. This longitudinal study examined whether two error-related neural markers: error-related negativity (ERN) and mediofrontal induced theta oscillations, moderate the impact of war exposure on adolescents' psychological adjustment.

Fifty adolescents (ages 12-17) completed a laboratory flanker task with electroencephalography (EEG) recordings prior to the outbreak of war. One year later, during an escalation of armed conflict, 30 participants completed follow-up assessments of anxiety, perceived stress, and avoidant coping.

Moderation analyses revealed that induced theta, but not ERN, moderated the associations between objective exposure to war (number of missile alert sirens) and psychological outcomes. Specifically, higher levels of induced theta amplified the link between war exposure and both perceived stress and avoidant coping. No overall increases in mean anxiety levels were observed, highlighting the heterogeneity of adolescents' responses to conflict. By contrast, ERN, although established as a developmental biomarker of anxiety risk, did not predict stress-related outcomes under prolonged war conditions.

These findings suggest that mediofrontal induced theta oscillations, reflecting dynamic and context-sensitive cognitive control processes, may serve as a neurobiological marker of vulnerability to maladaptive coping in real-world stress contexts. This study advances understanding of adolescent neurocognitive responses to threat and underscores the value of age-sensitive markers for identifying individuals at risk.