Cortisol Response to Psychosocial Stress in Chinese Early Puberty Girls: Possible Role of Depressive Symptoms

Objective. The present study aimed at investigating unique patterns of salivary cortisol reactivity and recovery in response to a social stressor among girls with early puberty and exploring possible role of depressive symptom in this association.Design. Case-control study.Patients. Fifty-six girls with early puberty and age- and body mass index- (BMI-) matched normal puberty controls(n=56)were selected.Measurements. Salivary cortisol was measured in response to the Groningen Social Stress Test for Children.Results. Girls with early puberty had higher cortisol concentration at the end of the GSST (C3), cortisol concentration 20 min after the end of the GSST (C4), and AUC increment (AUCi) compared to non-early puberty girls. Depressive symptoms correlated with blunted HPA reactivity among girls with early puberty.Conclusion. This study demonstrated the disturbance effect of objectively examined early pubertal timing on HPA axis responses. It also suggested that stress reactivity might be blunted for individuals with depressive symptoms.

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Implicit motives and children's salivary cortisol reactivity to an adapted version of the Trier Social Stress Test for Children (TSST-C)

Personality and Individual Differences ◽

10.1016/j.paid.2020.110010 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 162 ◽

pp. 110010 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Benedikt Spengler ◽

Jan Hofer ◽

Holger Busch ◽

Inga Dzionsko ◽

Valentin Emslander

Keyword(s):

Salivary Cortisol ◽

Social Stress ◽

Stress Test ◽

Trier Social Stress Test ◽

Implicit Motives ◽

Cortisol Reactivity

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Developmental changes in hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal activity over the transition to adolescence: Normative changes and associations with puberty

Development and Psychopathology ◽

10.1017/s0954579409000054 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 69-85 ◽

Cited By ~ 406

Author(s):

Megan R. Gunnar ◽

Sandi Wewerka ◽

Kristin Frenn ◽

Jeffrey D. Long ◽

Christopher Griggs

Keyword(s):

Social Stress ◽

Stress Reactivity ◽

Stress Test ◽

Pubertal Development ◽

Trier Social Stress Test ◽

Cortisol Reactivity ◽

Sympathetic Modulation ◽

Pituitary Adrenal Axis ◽

Depressed Symptoms ◽

Child Depressive Symptoms

AbstractHome baseline and laboratory stressor (Trier Social Stress Test for Children) measures of salivary cortisol were obtained from 82 participants (40 girls) aged 9, 11, 13, and 15 years. Measures of pubertal development, self-reported stress, parent reports of child depressive symptoms and fearful temperament, and cardiac measures of sympathetic and parasympathetic activity were also obtained. Significant increases in the home cortisol baselines were found with age and pubertal development. Cortisol stress reactivity differed by age group with 11-year-olds and 13-year-old boys showing blunted reactivity and 9-year-olds, 13-year-old girls, and 15-year-olds showing significant cortisol reactions. Cortisol reactivity correlated marginally with sexual maturation. Measures of sympathetic activity revealed increased sympathetic modulation with age. Higher sympathetic tone was associated with more fearful temperament, whereas greater cortisol reactivity was associated with more anxious and depressed symptoms for girls. The importance of these findings for the hypothesis that puberty-associated increases in hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis activity heightens the risk of psychopathology is discussed.

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Sex Differences in the Cortisol Response to the Trier Social Stress Test in Depressed and Nondepressed Adolescents

Clinical Psychological Science ◽

10.1177/2167702617739973 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 301-314 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Raegan Mazurka ◽

Katherine E. Wynne-Edwards ◽

Kate L. Harkness

Keyword(s):

Sex Differences ◽

Social Stress ◽

Stress Reactivity ◽

Stress Test ◽

Community Sample ◽

Trier Social Stress Test ◽

Cortisol Response ◽

Cortisol Reactivity ◽

Response To Stress ◽

Adolescent Period

Two of the most robust findings in depression research are (a) that women are twice as likely to become depressed than men and (b) that stress is an important risk factor for depression. Although sex differences in stress reactivity may be an important determinant of differential risk for depression, few studies have examined sex differences in neurobiological reactivity to stress. The purpose of the current study was to assess sex differences in the HPA axis response to stress in depressed versus healthy controls by comparing the cortisol response to the Trier Social Stress Test in a community sample of adolescents (ages 12–18). Depressed boys showed significantly heightened cortisol reactivity compared with depressed girls, whose response was blunted compared with nondepressed girls. This diverging pattern of cortisol reactivity to stress among depressed girls and boys may help to explain the sex difference in depression prevalence that emerges during the adolescent period.

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Pubertal timing and depressive symptoms in late adolescence: The moderating role of individual, peer, and parental factors

Development and Psychopathology ◽

10.1017/s0954579412001174 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 25 (2) ◽

pp. 455-471 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Amelie Benoit ◽

Eric Lacourse ◽

Michel Claes

Keyword(s):

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Pubertal Timing ◽

Emotional Problems ◽

Depression Symptoms ◽

Parental Rejection ◽

Deviant Peer Affiliation ◽

Early Puberty ◽

Peer Affiliation ◽

Moderating Role

AbstractThis longitudinal study examined personal-accentuation and contextual-amplification models of pubertal timing. In these models, individual and contextual risk factors during childhood and adolescence can magnify the effects of early or late puberty on depression symptoms that occur years later. The moderating role of prepubertal individual factors (emotional problems in late childhood) and interpersonal factors (deviant peer affiliation, early dating, perceived peer popularity, and perceived parental rejection during adolescence) were tested. A representative sample of 1,431 Canadian adolescents between 10–11 and 16–17 years of age was followed biannually. In line with the personal-accentuation model, early puberty has been shown to be a predictor for depression in both girls and boys who presented emotional problems in childhood. This effect was also noted for late maturing boys. Consistent with the contextual-amplification model, early puberty predicted later depression in youth who perceived greater parental rejection. Interpersonal experiences such as early dating in girls and deviant peer affiliation in boys predicted depression in early maturers as well. For girls, early dating was also found to be amplified by childhood emotional problems. In line with biopsychosocial models, results indicate that the effect of pubertal timing on depressive symptoms must be conceptualized through complex interactions between characteristics of adolescents' interpersonal relationships and prepubertal vulnerabilities.

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Associations between stress reactivity and behavior problems for previously institutionalized youth across puberty

Development and Psychopathology ◽

10.1017/s0954579420001297 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 32 (5) ◽

pp. 1854-1863

Author(s):

Nicole B. Perry ◽

Carrie E. DePasquale ◽

Bonny Donzella ◽

Megan R. Gunnar

Keyword(s):

Social Stress ◽

Internalizing Symptoms ◽

Developmental Psychopathology ◽

Stress Reactivity ◽

Stress Test ◽

Externalizing Symptoms ◽

Trier Social Stress Test ◽

Pubertal Stage ◽

Cortisol Reactivity ◽

Bidirectional Associations

AbstractMegan Gunnar's pubertal stress recalibration hypothesis was supported in a recent study of previously institutionalized (PI) youth such that increases in pubertal stage were associated with increases in cortisol stress reactivity. This work provides evidence that puberty may open up a window of recalibration for PI youth, resulting in a shift from a blunted to a more typical cortisol stress response. Using the same sample (N = 132), the current study aimed to elucidate whether increases in cortisol are associated with increases in adaptive functioning or whether they further underlie potential links to developmental psychopathology. Specifically, we examined the bidirectional associations between cortisol stress reactivity and both internalizing and externalizing symptoms across three timepoints during the pubertal period. Youth reported on their own internalizing symptoms and parents reported on youths’ externalizing symptoms. Cortisol reactivity was assessed during the Trier social stress test. Analyses revealed no associations between cortisol reactivity and externalizing symptoms across puberty for PI youth. However, longitudinal bidirectional associations did emerge for internalizing symptoms such that increases in cortisol reactivity predicted increases in internalizing symptoms and increases in internalizing symptoms predicted increases in cortisol reactivity. Findings suggest that recalibrating to more normative levels of cortisol reactivity may not always be associated with adaptive outcomes for PI youth.

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Resilience and Psychobiological Response to Stress in Older People: The Mediating Role of Coping Strategies

Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/fnagi.2021.632141 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 ◽

Author(s):

Mariola Zapater-Fajarí ◽

Isabel Crespo-Sanmiguel ◽

Matias M. Pulopulos ◽

Vanesa Hidalgo ◽

Alicia Salvador

Keyword(s):

Coping Strategies ◽

Social Stress ◽

Successful Aging ◽

Stress Test ◽

Active Coping ◽

Trier Social Stress Test ◽

Passive Coping ◽

Cortisol Reactivity ◽

Mediating Role

Resilience, the ability to overcome adversity and face stressful demands and experiences, has been strongly associated with successful aging, a low risk of diseases and high mental and physical functioning. This relationship could be based on adaptive coping behaviors, but more research is needed to gain knowledge about the strategies employed to confront social stress. Thus, we aimed to investigate the role of the use of active or passive coping strategies by resilient people in dealing with stressful situations. For this purpose, we measured resilience, coping strategies, and perceived stress in 66 healthy older adults (31 men and 35 women) between 56 and 75 years old who were exposed to stress (Trier Social Stress Test, TSST) or a control situation. The stress response was analyzed at endocrine (cortisol) and psychological (anxiety) levels. In the stress condition, moderated mediation analysis showed a conditional indirect effect of resilience on cortisol reactivity through active coping. However, passive coping strategies did not mediate the resilience-cortisol relationship. In addition, neither active nor passive coping mediated the relationship between resilience and the anxiety response. These results suggest that resilience is associated with active coping strategies, which in turn could explain, at least in part, individual differences in the cortisol response to a psychosocial laboratory stressor. These factors may prevent the development of stress-related pathologies associated with aging and facilitate healthy and satisfactory aging.

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The role of bicultural adaptation, familism, and family conflict in Mexican American adolescents’ cortisol reactivity

Development and Psychopathology ◽

10.1017/s0954579418001116 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 30 (5) ◽

pp. 1571-1587 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Nancy A. Gonzales ◽

Megan Johnson ◽

Elizabeth A. Shirtcliff ◽

Jenn-Yun Tein ◽

Brenda Eskenazi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Family Conflict ◽

Social Stress ◽

Mexican American ◽

Stress Test ◽

Trier Social Stress Test ◽

Cortisol Reactivity ◽

Hypothalamic Pituitary Adrenal ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Mexican American Adolescents

AbstractScarce research has examined stress responsivity among Latino youths, and no studies have focused on the role of acculturation in shaping cortisol stress response in this population. This study assessed Mexican American adolescents’ Mexican and Anglo cultural orientations and examined prospective associations between their patterns of bicultural orientation and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal cortisol reactivity to an adapted Trier Social Stress Test. The sample included 264 youths from a longitudinal birth cohort study who completed the Trier Social Stress Test and provided saliva samples at age 14. The youths completed assessments of cultural orientation at age 12, and family conflict and familism at age 14. Analyses testing the interactive effects of Anglo and Mexican orientation showed significant associations with cortisol responsivity, including the reactivity slope, peak levels, and recovery, but these associations were not mediated by family conflict nor familism values. Findings revealed that bicultural youth (high on both Anglo and Mexican orientations) showed an expected pattern of high cortisol responsivity, which may be adaptive in the context of a strong acute stressor, whereas individuals endorsing only high levels of Anglo orientation had a blunted cortisol response. Findings are discussed in relation to research on biculturalism and the trade-offs and potential recalibration of a contextually responsive hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis for acculturating adolescents.

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Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Cortisol Stress Reactivity in Response to the Trier Social Stress Test in Inpatients with Major Depressive Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Journal of Clinical Medicine ◽

10.3390/jcm9051419 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 1419

Author(s):

Markus Gerber ◽

Christian Imboden ◽

Johannes Beck ◽

Serge Brand ◽

Flora Colledge ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Exercise Training ◽

Aerobic Exercise ◽

Social Stress ◽

Stress Reactivity ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Stress Test ◽

Trier Social Stress Test ◽

Aerobic Exercise Training ◽

Cortisol Response ◽

Cortisol Reactivity

Physical activity is associated with a favourable (blunted) cortisol stress reactivity in healthy people. However, evidence from experimental study and with psychiatric patients is missing. This study examines whether exercise training impacts on cortisol stress reactivity in inpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD). These new insights are important because the stress reactivity of healthy people and patients with severe symptoms of depression might differ. Methods: The study was designed as a randomized controlled trial (trial registration number: NCT02679053). In total, 25 patients (13 women, 12 men, mean age: 38.1 ± 12.0 years) completed a laboratory stressor task before and after a six-week intervention period. Nine samples of salivary free cortisol were taken before and after the Trier social stress test (TSST). Fourteen participants took part in six weeks of aerobic exercise training, while 11 patients were allocated to the control condition. While the primary outcome of the study was depressive symptom severity, the focus of this paper is on one of the secondary outcomes (cortisol reactivity during the TSST). The impact of aerobic exercise training was examined with a repeated-measures analysis of variance. We also examined the association between change in depression and cortisol response via correlational analysis. Cortisol reactivity did not change from baseline to post-intervention, either in the intervention or the control group. Participation in six weeks of aerobic exercise training was not associated with participants’ cortisol reactivity. Moreover, depressive symptom change was not associated with change in cortisol response. Aerobic exercise training was not associated with patients’ stress reactivity in this study. Because many patients initially showed a relatively flat/blunted cortisol response curve, efforts might be needed to find out which treatments are most efficient to promote a normalization of HPA axis reactivity.

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