salivary cortisol

Adolescent Conflict Appraisals Moderate the Link Between Marital Conflict and Physiological Stress Reactivity

April 18, 2017 by IISBR

Background:

The goal of this study was to advance understanding of how adolescent conflict appraisals contribute uniquely, and in combination with interparental conflict behavior, to individual differences in adolescent physiological reactivity. Saliva samples were collected from 153 adolescents (52% female; ages 10–17 years) before and after the Trier Social Stress Test. Saliva was assayed for cortisol and alpha-amylase. Results revealed interactive effects between marital conflict and conflict appraisals. For youth who appraised parental conflict negatively (particularly as threatening), negative marital conflict predicted dampened reactivity; for youth who appraised parental conflict less negatively, negative marital conflict predicted heightened reactivity. These findings support the notion that the family context and youth appraisals of family relationships are linked with individual differences in biological sensitivity to context.

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Prefrontal Cortex Activity Is Associated with Biobehavioral Components of the Stress Response

November 18, 2016 by IISBR

Background:

Contemporary theory suggests that prefrontal cortex (PFC) function is associated with individual variability in the psychobiology of the stress response. Advancing our understanding of this complex biobehavioral pathway has potential to provide insight into processes that determine individual differences in stress susceptibility. The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine brain activity during a variation of the Montreal Imaging Stress Task (MIST) in 53 young adults. Salivary cortisol was assessed as an index of the stress response, trait anxiety was assessed as an index of an individual’s disposition toward negative affectivity, and self-reported stress was assessed as an index of an individual’s subjective psychological experience. Heart rate and skin conductance responses were also assessed as additional measures of physiological reactivity. Dorsomedial PFC, dorsolateral PFC, and inferior parietal lobule demonstrated differential activity during the MIST. Further, differences in salivary cortisol reactivity to the MIST were associated with ventromedial PFC and posterior cingulate activity, while trait anxiety and self-reported stress were associated with dorsomedial and ventromedial PFC activity, respectively. These findings underscore that PFC activity regulates behavioral and psychobiological components of the stress response.

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Prenatal Drug Exposure and Adolescent Cortisol Reactivity: Association with Behavioral Concerns.

August 27, 2016 by IISBR

Background:
OBJECTIVE: To examine stress reactivity in a sample of adolescents with prenatal drug exposure (PDE) by examining the consequences of PDE on stress-related adrenocortical reactivity, behavioral problems, and drug experimentation during adolescence.

METHODS: Participants (76 PDE, 61 non-drug exposed [NE]; 99% African-American; 50% male; mean age = 14.17 yr, SD = 1.17) provided a urine sample, completed a drug use questionnaire, and provided saliva samples (later assayed for cortisol) before and after a mild laboratory stress task. Caregivers completed the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC II) and reported their relationship to the adolescent.

RESULTS: The NE group was more likely to exhibit task-related cortisol reactivity compared to the PDE group. Overall behavior problems and drug experimentation were comparable across groups with no differences between PDE and NE groups. In unadjusted mediation analyses, cortisol reactivity mediated the association between PDE and BASC II aggression scores (95% bootstrap confidence interval [CI], 0.04-4.28), externalizing problems scores (95% bootstrap CI, 0.03-4.50), and drug experimentation (95% bootstrap CI, 0.001-0.54). The associations remain with the inclusion of gender as a covariate but not when age is included.

CONCLUSION: Findings support and expand current research in cortisol reactivity and PDE by demonstrating that cortisol reactivity attenuates the association between PDE and behavioral problems (aggression) and drug experimentation. If replicated, PDE may have long-lasting effects on stress-sensitive physiological mechanisms associated with behavioral problems (aggression) and drug experimentation in adolescence.

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Individual differences in early adolescents’ latent trait cortisol (LTC): Relation to recent acute and chronic stress.

June 4, 2016 by IISBR

Background: Research suggests that environmental stress contributes to health by altering the regulation of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis. Recent evidence indicates that early life stress alters trait indicators of HPA axis activity, but whether recent stress alters such indicators is unknown. Using objective contextual stress interviews with adolescent girls and their mothers, we examined the impact of recent acute and chronic stress occurring during the past year on early adolescent girls’ latent trait cortisol (LTC) level. We also examined whether associations between recent stress and LTC level: a) varied according to the interpersonal nature and controllability of the stress; and b) remained after accounting for the effect of early life stress. Adolescents (n=117;M age=12.39years) provided salivary cortisol samples three times a day (waking, 30min post-waking and bedtime) over 3days. Results indicated that greater recent interpersonal acute stress and greater recent independent (i.e., uncontrollable) acute stress were each associated with a higher LTC level, over and above the effect of early adversity. In contrast, greater recent chronic stress was associated with a lower LTC level. Findings were similar in the overall sample and a subsample of participants who strictly adhered to the timed schedule of saliva sample collection. Implications for understanding the impact of recent stress on trait-like individual differences in HPA axis activity are discussed.

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