The Influence of a Motivational Climate Intervention on Participants’ Salivary Cortisol and Psychological Responses

2013 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Candace M. Hogue ◽  
Mary D. Fry ◽  
Andrew C. Fry ◽  
Sarah D. Pressman
Keyword(s):  
Stress Responses ◽  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Motivational Climate ◽  
Psychological Responses ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Perspective Theory ◽  
Motivational Climates ◽  
Cortisol Responses ◽  
Achievement Goal Perspective Theory

Research in achievement goal perspective theory suggests that the creation of a caring/task-involving (C/TI) climate results in more advantageous psychological and behavioral responses relative to an ego-involving (EI) climate; however, research has not yet examined the physiological consequences associated with psychological stress in relation to climate. Given the possible health and fitness implications of certain physiological stress responses, it is critical to understand this association. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine whether an EI climate procures increases in the stress-responsive hormone cortisol, as well as negative psychological changes, following the learning of a new skill, compared with a C/TI climate. Participants (n = 107) were randomized to a C/TI or an EI climate in which they learned how to juggle for 30 min over the course of 2 hr. Seven salivary cortisol samples were collected during this period. Results indicated that EI participants experienced greater cortisol responses after the juggling session and significantly greater anxiety, stress, shame, and self-consciousness relative to C/TI participants. In contrast, the C/TI participants reported greater enjoyment, effort, self-confidence, and interest and excitement regarding future juggling than the EI participants. These findings indicate that motivational climates may have a significant impact on both the physiological and psychological responses of participants.

scholarly journals PERCEIVED CONTROL AND CORTISOL STRESS REACTIVITY: VARIATIONS BY AGE, RACE, AND FACETS OF CONTROL

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S854-S854
Author(s):  
Jin-Hui Wen ◽  
Nancy L Sin
Keyword(s):  
Racial Differences ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
Perceived Control ◽  
Stress Reactivity ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Cortisol Reactivity ◽  
Personal Mastery ◽  
Age Variations ◽  
Perceived Constraints

Abstract Greater perceived control is associated with better aging-related health outcomes, and these associations have previously been shown to differ based on sociodemographics. Physiological stress responses—including cortisol reactivity to stressors—may underlie the link between perceived control and health. The goal of this study was to evaluate the associations of perceived control and its facets (personal mastery and perceived constraints) with cortisol reactivity to acute laboratory stressors, in addition to the moderating roles of age and race. Participants (N = 737) ages 25-75 completed a perceived control questionnaire and two lab-based stress tasks. Salivary cortisol was collected pre- and post-stressor exposure. The results showed no main effects of perceived control, personal mastery, nor perceived constraints on salivary cortisol reactivity to stressors. However, age and race moderated the association between perceived constraints and post-stressor cortisol level, adjusting for baseline cortisol, sociodemographics, and health covariates. Among white participants, younger adults who reported higher constraints had elevated cortisol responses compared to those who reported lower constraints, whereas constraints were unrelated to cortisol reactivity among midlife and older adults. Among black participants, perceived control and its subscales were unrelated to cortisol, regardless of age. These findings suggest that older age buffers against the association between constraints and stress reactivity, but this buffering effect is only evident for white participants. Future research on the role of perceived control in stress and health should consider the importance of racial differences, facets of control, and age variations.

Are preschoolers’ neurobiological stress systems responsive to culturally-relevant contexts?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ka I Ip ◽  
Barbara Felt ◽  
Li Wang ◽  
Mayumi Karasawa ◽  
Hidemi Hirabayashi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stress Responses ◽  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
The United States ◽  
Psychosocial Stressors ◽  
Cortisol Response ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Situational Contexts ◽  
Cortisol Responses ◽  
Societal Level ◽  
China And Japan

Adults are biologically responsive to context, and their responses to particular situations may differ across cultures. However, are preschoolers’ biological systems also responsive to situational contexts and cultures? Here we show that children’s neurobiological stress responses, as indexed by salivary cortisol, are activated and responsive to psychosocial stressors relevant to their socio-cultural emphases. By examining cortisol changes across different contexts among 138 preschoolers living in the United States, China and Japan, we found that an achievement-related stressor elicited an increased cortisol response among Chinese preschoolers, whereas interpersonal-related stressors elicited an increased cortisol response among Japanese preschoolers. Contrastingly, US preschoolers showed decreased cortisol responses after these stressors, but consistently showed higher levels of anticipatory responses to separation at the beginning of each session. Our findings suggest that children’s neurobiological stress systems may be a critical biological mechanism allowing societal-level cultural phenomena to be embodied in individual-level responses, even amongst preschoolers.

Designing meditation for doctor well-being: can ‘Om’ help obstetrics and gynaecology doctors?

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 342-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosie Allen ◽  
Andrew Robinson ◽  
Shelley Allen ◽  
Elizabeth Nathan ◽  
Edwina Coghlan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stress Responses ◽  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
High Stress ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Brain Wave ◽  
Obstetrics And Gynaecology ◽  
The Impact

Objective: The study aimed to measure the impact of meditation on participants’ ability to regulate brain wave activity in high-stress situations, control physiological stress responses and improve subjective wellbeing. Methods: Twelve obstetrics and gynaecology (O&G) doctors meditated for 20 minutes daily for 21 days utilising a portable EEG (electroencephalogram) providing instantaneous audio feedback. Their brain activity levels and salivary cortisol were measured before and after performing three surgical procedures. Participants were interviewed about their experiences and completed self-ratings of distress (e.g. DASS-21, Depression, Anxiety and Depression Scale). Data were analysed statistically and thematically. Results: (a) Measures of pre- and post-operative brain activity showed no significantly higher levels of alpha waves. (b) Pre- and post-operative salivary cortisol levels did not significantly decrease. (c) DASS-21 scores showed significant decreases in levels of anxiety and stress. Conclusion: Results suggest that, with biofeedback meditation, O&G doctors can learn to reduce situational stress and improve mood overall through a focussed intervention.

scholarly journals Worldview Under Stress: Preliminary Findings on Cardiovascular and Cortisol Stress Responses Predicted by Secularity, Religiosity, Spirituality, and Existential Search

2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 2969-2989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatjana Schnell ◽  
Dietmar Fuchs ◽  
René Hefti
Keyword(s):  
Stress Responses ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
Recovery Period ◽  
Trier Social Stress Test ◽  
Stress Resilience ◽  
Cardiovascular Stress ◽  
Cortisol Responses ◽  
Positive Correlations

AbstractThis study reports preliminary findings on the hypothesis that worldview can predict cardiovascular and cortisol responses to social stress. Based on theory and previous findings, we assumed that worldview security would provide a basis for stress resilience. Accordingly, religious and atheist individuals were expected to show higher stress resilience than spiritual and agnostic participants. Likewise, dimensional measures of religiosity and atheism were hypothesized to predict decreased, and existential search—indicating worldview insecurity—was hypothesized to predict increased physiological stress responses. Subjects included 50 university students who completed online questionnaires and took part in a standardized social stress test (Trier Social Stress Test). Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP), heart rate (HR), and salivary cortisol (SC) were assessed at baseline, immediately after stress testing, and during a forty-minute recovery period. Worldview comparisons revealed lower cardiovascular stress responses among religious than among atheist and spiritual participants and particularly high baseline SC among spiritual participants. Across the entire sample, existential search showed substantial positive correlations with SBP, HR, and SC stress parameters. The findings suggest that worldview security might partly explain the health benefits often associated with religion.

scholarly journals Covariation between behaviour and physiology indicators of coping style in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

2013 ◽  
Vol 219 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Tudorache ◽  
Marcel J M Schaaf ◽  
Hans Slabbekoorn
Keyword(s):  
Danio Rerio ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Coping Style ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Coping Styles ◽  
Repeated Stress ◽  
Basal Cortisol ◽  
Cortisol Responses ◽  
First Time ◽  
Over Time

All vertebrates exhibit physiological responses to a wide variety of stressors. The amplitude and profile of the response depend on the intensity, duration, controllability and predictability of the stressor, but there is also individual variation in the response, termed coping style. A better understanding of the expression of coping styles is of great value for medical applications, animal welfare issues and conservation. Here, we investigated the effect of repeated netting stress on proactive and reactive zebrafish (Danio rerio) as an upcoming model system for stress research. Fish were separated by coping styles according to the order of entering a novel environment. Subsequently, repeated netting stress was applied as stressor, over a period of 21 days. Full-body cortisol levels were determined at 0, 15, 30, 60 and 120 min after the last repeated stress event. Our results show that reactive fish display i) increased basal cortisol concentrations after being repeatedly stressed, ii) higher cortisol secretion over time and iii) slow recovery of cortisol concentration towards basal levels after the last repeated stress event. This study shows for the first time in zebrafish that different coping styles are associated with different cortisol responses during the recovery from stress over time and that coping styles can explain otherwise unaccounted variation in physiological stress responses.

scholarly journals P069: Hardened tendencies: persistence of initial appraisals following simulation-based stress training

CJEM ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (S1) ◽  
pp. S81-S81 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Hicks ◽  
V. LeBlanc
Keyword(s):  
Stress Responses ◽  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
Cognitive Appraisal ◽  
Trauma Team ◽  
Stressful Events ◽  
Stress Inoculation ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Training Interventions ◽  
Simulation Based ◽  
Cortisol Responses

Introduction: Stress has been shown to impair performance during acute events. The goal of this pilot study was to investigate the effects of two simulation-based training interventions and baseline demographics (gender, age) on stress responses to simulated trauma scenarios. Methods: Sixteen (16) Emergency Medicine and Surgery residents were randomly assigned to one of two groups: Stress Inoculation Training (SIT) or Crisis Resource Management (CRM). Residents served as trauma team leaders in simulated trauma scenarios pre and post intervention. CRM training focused on non-technical skills required for effective teamwork. The SIT group focused on cognitive reappraisal, breathing and mental rehearsal. Training lasted 3 hours, involving brief didactic sessions and practice scenarios with debriefing focused on either CRM or SIT. Stress responses were measured with the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (anxiety), cognitive appraisal (degree to which a person interprets a situation as a threat or challenge) and salivary cortisol levels. Results: Because the pre-intervention stress responses were different between the two groups, the results were analyzed with stepwise regression analyses. The only significant predictor of anxiety and cortisol responses were the residents appraisal responses to that scenario, explaining 31% of the variance in anxiety and cortisol. Appraisals of the post-intervention scenarios were predicted by their appraisals of the pre-intervention scenario and gender, explaining 73% of the variance. Men were more likely than women to appraise the scenarios as threatening. There were no differences in subjective anxiety, cognitive appraisal or salivary cortisol responses as a result of either intervention. Conclusion: Male residents, as well as those who appraised an initial simulated trauma scenario as threatening, were more likely to interpret a subsequent scenario as threatening, and were more likely to have larger subjective (anxiety) and physiological (cortisol) responses a subsequent scenario. Both CRM and SIT training were not effective in overcoming initial appraisals of potentially stressful events.

Gender discrimination and women’s HPA activation to psychosocial stress during the postnatal period

2020 ◽  
pp. 135910532095347
Author(s):  
Vanessa V. Volpe ◽  
Danyelle N. Dawson ◽  
Heidemarie K. Laurent
Keyword(s):  
Health Risk ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Gender Discrimination ◽  
Psychosocial Stress ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Postnatal Period ◽  
Physiological Dysregulation ◽  
Cortisol Responses ◽  
Longitudinal Associations ◽  
Postnatal Stress

Stress due to discrimination may contribute to physiological dysregulation and health risk during the postnatal period. This study examined longitudinal associations between gender discrimination and women’s cortisol responses to subsequent stress. Mothers ( N = 79) reported gender discrimination and completed mother-infant stress tasks with saliva sampling for cortisol at 6, 12, and 18 months postnatal. Multilevel modeling results indicated more overall gender discrimination was associated with higher cortisol. Changes in gender discrimination were not associated with cortisol over time. Gender discrimination may be a factor in women’s postnatal stress and associated health risk via the sensitization of physiological stress responses.

scholarly journals A longitudinal study of perceived stress and cortisol responses in an undergraduate student population from India

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0252579
Author(s):  
Anuradha Batabyal ◽  
Anindita Bhattacharya ◽  
Maria Thaker ◽  
Shomen Mukherjee
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
Undergraduate Student ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Stressful Event ◽  
Cortisol Levels ◽  
Distress Scale

Young adults entering college experience immense shifts in personal and professional environments. Such a potentially stressful event may trigger multiple psychological and physiological effects. In a repeated-measures longitudinal survey (N = 6 time-points) of first year cohort of residential undergraduate students in India, this study evaluates multiple psychological parameters: PSS14 (Perceived Stress Scale), K10 (distress scale) and positive mood measures, along with salivary cortisol levels. We find that compared to women, men showed significantly lower levels of salivary cortisol and also a decrease in perceived stress (PSS14) and distress (K10) with time. By contrast, women reported similar perceived stress and distress levels over time but had higher cortisol levels at the end of the academic year. Academic stress was reported by the students to be the most important stressor. This study highlights notable gender-/sex-differences in psychological and physiological stress responses and adds a valuable longitudinal dataset from the Indian undergraduate student cohort which is lacking in literature.

Emotions and health: The impact of emotions, emotions regulation, music, and acculturation on health

2008 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 112-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Bongard ◽  
Volker Hodapp ◽  
Sonja Rohrmann
Keyword(s):  
Stress Responses ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Anger Expression ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Cardiovascular Stress ◽  
Expression Behavior ◽  
Cardio Vascular ◽  
And Coping ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Our unit investigates the relationship of emotional processes (experience, expression, and coping), their physiological correlates and possible health outcomes. We study domain specific anger expression behavior and associated cardio-vascular loads and found e.g. that particularly an open anger expression at work is associated with greater blood pressure. Furthermore, we demonstrated that women may be predisposed for the development of certain mental disorders because of their higher disgust sensitivity. We also pointed out that the suppression of negative emotions leads to increased physiological stress responses which results in a higher risk for cardiovascular diseases. We could show that relaxation as well as music activity like singing in a choir causes increases in the local immune parameter immunoglobuline A. Finally, we are investigating connections between migrants’ strategy of acculturation and health and found e.g. elevated cardiovascular stress responses in migrants when they where highly adapted to the German culture.

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