Pathways from early adversity to later adjustment: Tests of the additive and bidirectional effects of executive control and diurnal cortisol in early childhood

AbstractAdditive and bidirectional effects of executive control and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis regulation on children's adjustment were examined, along with the effects of low income and cumulative risk on executive control and the HPA axis. The study utilized longitudinal data from a community sample of preschool age children (N = 306, 36–39 months at Time 1) whose families were recruited to overrepresent low-income contexts. We tested the effects of low income and cumulative risk on levels and growth of executive control and HPA axis regulation (diurnal cortisol level), the bidirectional effects of executive control and the HPA axis on each other, and their additive effects on children's adjustment problems, social competence and academic readiness. Low income predicted lower Time 4 executive control, and cumulative risk predicted lower Time 4 diurnal cortisol level. There was little evidence of bidirectional effects of executive control and diurnal cortisol. However, both executive control and diurnal cortisol predicted Time 4 adjustment, suggesting additive effects. There were indirect effects of income on all three adjustment outcomes through executive control, and of cumulative risk on adjustment problems and social competence through diurnal cortisol. The results provide evidence that executive control and diurnal cortisol additively predict children's adjustment and partially account for the effects of income and cumulative risk on adjustment.

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Do children's adjustment problems contribute to teacher–child relationship quality? Support for a child-driven model

Early Childhood Research Quarterly ◽

10.1016/j.ecresq.2015.08.003 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 34 ◽

pp. 13-26 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Teresa M. Mejia ◽

Wendy L.G. Hoglund

Keyword(s):

Relationship Quality ◽

Adjustment Problems ◽

Children's Adjustment ◽

Children’S Adjustment ◽

Child Relationship

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Stress of Language Brokering and Mexican American Adolescents’ Adjustment: The Role of Cumulative Risk

The Journal of Early Adolescence ◽

10.1177/0272431619847526 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 40 (3) ◽

pp. 400-425

Author(s):

Yishan Shen ◽

Eunjin Seo ◽

Dorothy Clare Walt ◽

Su Yeong Kim

Keyword(s):

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Low Income ◽

Mexican American ◽

Cumulative Risk ◽

Early Adolescents ◽

Well Being ◽

The United States ◽

Language Brokering ◽

Adjustment Problems

This study focused on early adolescents’ stress of language brokering and examined the moderating role of family cumulative risk in the relation of language brokering to adjustment problems. Data came from self-reports of 604 low-income Mexican American adolescent language brokers (54% female; [Formula: see text]= 12.4; SD = 0.97; 75% born in the United States) and their parents (99% foreign-born) in central Texas. Path analyses revealed that brokering stress, but not frequency, was positively associated with adolescents’ adjustment problems, including depressive symptoms, anxiety, and delinquency. We also found that the relation between stress of brokering for mothers and adolescents’ depressive symptoms was stronger among families with a high cumulative risk. Further, with a high cumulative risk, adolescents exhibited delinquent behaviors regardless of the levels of stress from translating for fathers. Current findings underscore the importance of examining family contexts in assessing the consequences of language brokering for Mexican American early adolescents’ well-being.

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Diurnal cortisol rhythms in youth from risky families: Effects of cumulative risk exposure and variation in the serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region gene

Development and Psychopathology ◽

10.1017/s0954579414000558 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 26 (4pt1) ◽

pp. 999-1019 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Cynthia J. Willner ◽

Pamela A. Morris ◽

Dana Charles McCoy ◽

Emma K. Adam

Keyword(s):

Serotonin Transporter ◽

Low Income ◽

Allelic Variation ◽

Cumulative Risk ◽

Area Under The Curve ◽

Risk Exposure ◽

Polymorphic Region ◽

Region Gene ◽

Diurnal Cortisol ◽

Cortisol Levels

AbstractBuilding on research on cumulative risk and psychopathology, this study examines how cumulative risk exposure is associated with altered diurnal cortisol rhythms in an ethnically diverse, low-income sample of youth. In addition, consistent with a diathesis-stress perspective, this study explores whether the effect of environmental risk is moderated by allelic variation in the serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) gene. Results show that youth with greater cumulative risk exposure had flatter diurnal cortisol slopes, regardless of5-HTTLPRgenotype. However, the association of cumulative risk with average cortisol output (area under the curve [AUC]) was moderated by the5-HTTLPRgenotype. Among youth homozygous for the long allele, greater cumulative risk exposure was associated with lower cortisol AUC, driven by significant reductions in cortisol levels at waking. In contrast, there was a trend-level association between greater cumulative risk and higher cortisol AUC among youth carrying the short allele, driven by a trend-level increase in bedtime cortisol levels. Findings are discussed with regard to the relevance of dysregulated diurnal cortisol rhythms for the development of psychopathology and the implications of genetically mediated differences in psychophysiological adaptations to stress.

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Featured Article: Community Crime Exposure and Risk for Obesity in Preschool Children: Moderation by the Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal-Axis Response

Journal of Pediatric Psychology ◽

10.1093/jpepsy/jsx116 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 43 (4) ◽

pp. 353-365 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Maria A Gartstein ◽

Erich Seamon ◽

Stephanie F Thompson ◽

Liliana J Lengua

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Hpa Axis ◽

Cumulative Risk ◽

Unique Contribution ◽

Neighborhood Crime ◽

Diurnal Cortisol ◽

Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal ◽

Preschool Period ◽

Child Bmi ◽

Hpa Axis Activity

Abstract Objective Identification of early risk factors related to obesity is critical to preventative public health efforts. In this study, we investigated links between the Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal (HPA)-axis activity (diurnal cortisol pattern), geospatially operationalized exposure to neighborhood crime, and body mass index (BMI) for a sample of 5-year-old children. Greater community crime exposure and lower HPA-axis activity were hypothesized to contribute to higher BMI, with child HPA-axis moderating the association between crime exposure and BMI. Method Families residing within the boundaries of the City of Seattle (N = 114) provided information concerning demographic/psychosocial risk factors, used to calculate a Cumulative Risk Index, indicating the number of contextual adversities present. Child BMI and diurnal cortisol pattern (derived from assays of saliva samples) were examined, along with neighborhood crime indices computed with publically available information, based on participants’ locations. Results Hierarchical multiple regression analyses, adjusted for covariates (cumulative risk, age, and sex), indicated that crime proximity made a unique contribution to child BMI, in the direction signaling an increase in the risk for obesity. Consistent with our hypothesis, a significant interaction was observed, indicative of moderation by diurnal cortisol pattern. Follow-up simple slope analyses demonstrated that crime exposure was significantly related to higher BMI for children with low-flat (blunted) diurnal cortisol patterns, where community crime and BMI were not significantly associated at higher levels of cortisol. Conclusion Community crime exposure contributes to higher BMI as early as the preschool period, and blunted diurnal cortisol patterns may place children experiencing neighborhood adversity at greater risk for obesity.

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