Abstract
BackgroundGiven mixed findings as to whether stressful experiences and relationships are associated with increases or decreases in children's cortisol reactivity, we tested whether a child's developmental history of risk exposure explained variation in cortisol reactivity to an experimentally induced task. We also tested whether the relationship between cortisol reactivity and children's internalizing and externalizing problems varied as a function of their developmental history of stressful experiences and relationships.MethodParticipants included 400 children (M = 9.99 years, SD = 0.74 years) from the Children's Experiences and Development Study. Early risk exposure was measured by children's experiences of harsh, nonresponsive parenting at 3 years. Recent risk exposure was measured by children's exposure to traumatic events in the past year. Children's cortisol reactivity was measured in response to a social provocation task and parents and teachers described children's internalizing and externalizing problems.ResultsThe effect of recent exposure to traumatic events was partially dependent upon a child's early experiences of harsh, nonresponsive parenting: the more traumatic events children had recently experienced, the greater their cortisol reactivity if they had experienced lower (but not higher) levels of harsh, nonresponsive parenting at age 3. The lowest levels of cortisol reactivity were observed among children who had experienced the most traumatic events in the past year and higher (vs. lower) levels of harsh, nonresponsive parenting in early childhood. Among youth who experienced harsh, nonresponsive parent–child relationships in early childhood and later traumatic events, lower levels of cortisol reactivity were associated with higher levels of internalizing and externalizing problems.ConclusionsHypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity to psychological stressors and the relationship between HPA axis reactivity and children's internalizing and externalizing problems vary as a function of a child's developmental history of exposure to stressful relationships and experiences.
Highlights
Biopsychosocial models propose that early exposure to harsh, dangerous, or unpredictable environments increases risk for poor mental and physical health by adversely affecting the development of central nervous, neuroendocrine, and immune systems (Danese & McEwen, 2012)
Studies of HPA axis reactivity have typically focused on exposure to stressful relationships or experiences at specific points in time, without considering the possibility that the effects of a stressor at one point in time may be dependent on exposure to a stressor at another point in time
Because cortisol concentrations at time t reflect cortisol activity t – 15 to t – 30 min earlier, cortisol reactivity to the social provocation (SP) task was assessed by subtracting the lowest cortisol value collected by the end of the SP task from the cortisol value collected 20 min following the SP task
Summary
Biopsychosocial models propose that early exposure to harsh, dangerous, or unpredictable environments increases risk for poor mental and physical health by adversely affecting the development of central nervous, neuroendocrine, and immune systems (Danese & McEwen, 2012) Consistent with this possibility, children from families characterized by harsh, rejecting, and conflictual relationships and children who are exposed to violence show different patterns of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis functioning than children who do not experience these stressful relationships or experiences (Tarullo & Gunnar, 2006). Two studies focused on the effects of maltreatment in early (Gunnar, Frenn, Wewerka, & Van Ryzin, 2009) or middle childhood (Shenk, Noll, Putnam, & Trickett, 2010) on HPA axis reactivity to psychosocial stress approximately 6–10 years later Both of these investigations revealed that maltreated youth had lower levels of cortisol reactivity than comparison doi:10.1111/jcpp.12287.
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