Chronic stress in the mother-infant dyad: Maternal hair cortisol,infant salivary cortisol and interactional synchrony

Stress physiology is shaped by early experience, with enduring effects on health. The relation of chronic maternal physiological stress, as indexed by hair cortisol, to infants’ stress systems and to mother-infant interaction quality has not been established. We examined maternal hair and salivary cortisol, six-month-old infants’ salivary cortisol, and mother-infant interaction in 121 mother-infant dyads. High maternal hair cortisol was related to higher infant average salivary cortisol concentration. Maternal hair cortisol and bedtime salivary cortisol were both uniquely related to infant bedtime salivary cortisol. Mothers with higher hair cortisol were more intrusive and had lower positive engagement synchrony with their infants. Maternal intrusiveness moderated the association of maternal hair cortisol and infant salivary cortisol, such that maternal hair and infant average salivary cortisol were related only when mothers were more intrusive. Maternal chronic physiological stress may upregulate infants’ developing stress systems, particularly in the context of lower mother-infant interaction quality.     

Effect of pre- and postcompetition emotional state on salivary cortisol in top-ranking wrestlers

The purpose was three-fold: (1) to investigate the effect of baseline, precompetition, and postcompetition stress on salivary cortisol levels in top-ranking Brazilian wrestlers (N = 17) participating in a national competition; (2) to estimate correlations among three stress measures (perceived stress, salivary cortisol, and physiological stress reaction); and (3) to compare cortisol concentrations between losers and winners. Salivary cortisol was collected at baseline, pre-, and postcompetition. Physiological stress reaction and perceived stress scores were measured just before warm-up for the competition. Analysis showed a significant main effect for testing time. Correlations among the stress measures were not significant. Analysis of covariance between the winners (n = 10) and the losers (n = 7) was also not significant. Salivary cortisol concentrations increased after the intense exercise of competition. The wrestlers did not perceive any physiological effects.     

Audiospatial and visuospatial working memory in 6-13 year old school children

The neural processes subserving working memory, and brain structures underlying this system, continue to develop during childhood. We investigated the effects of age and gender on audiospatial and visuospatial working memory in a nonclinical sample of school-aged children using n-back tasks. The results showed that auditory and visual working memory performance improves with age, suggesting functional maturation of underlying cognitive processes and brain areas. The gender differences found in the performance of working memory tasks suggest a larger degree of immaturity in boys than girls at the age period of 6–10 yr. The differences observed between the mastering of auditory and visual working memory tasks may indicate that visual working memory reaches functional maturity earlier than the corresponding auditory system.     

Intranasal oxytocin and salivary cortisol concentrations during social rejection in university students

Oxytocin facilitates pro-social behaviour and is proposed as a regulatory factor controlling stress reactivity. Previous research on oxytocin and stress has focused on achievement-related stressors among male participants. The aims of the study were to (1) examine the influence of oxytocin on the affective and cortisol response to the Yale Interpersonal Stressor (YIPS), a live social rejection paradigm, and (2) to replicate the finding that women exhibit a greater cortisol response to interpersonal stress than men (Stroud et al. 2002). Sex differences in stress responses: Social rejection versus achievement stress. Biol Psychiat 53:318-327. Ninety-six undergraduate students underwent the YIPS, where participants were excluded from two separate conversations by two same-sex confederates. Salivary cortisol concentrations and mood were repeatedly measured throughout the study. Participants were administered, in a double-blind design, a single dose of intranasal oxytocin (24 IU) or placebo prior to beginning the YIPS. The YIPS elicited a significant negative mood response that was more pronounced in females than in males. However, no significant cortisol response to the stressor and no sex difference in cortisol reactivity were observed. A significant effect of drug condition on cortisol levels was observed. Participants who were administered oxytocin exhibited a decrease in cortisol levels, relative to placebo, during the YIPS, F (4, 184)=4.50, p<0.05. The study failed to replicate the sex difference in the cortisol response to interpersonal stress reported by Stroud et al. (2002). Intranasal oxytocin, however, appeared to reduce cortisol concentrations during an interpersonal challenge.     

Maternal alexithymic traits,prenatal stress,and infant temperament

We aimed at investigating, whether maternal alexithymia or prenatal anxiety influences infant temperament (Infant Temperament Questionnaire, IBQ) at six months. Maternal alexithymic trait of “Difficulty in Identifying Feelings” predicted higher infant “Duration of Orienting”. “Fear of Bearing a Handicapped Child” predicted lower infant “Activity Level”.     

Maternal prenatal stress and infant regulatory capacity in Mexican Americans

The early postpartum period lays important groundwork for later self-regulation as infants’ dispositional traits interact with caregivers’ co-regulatory behaviors to produce the earliest forms of self-regulation. Although emerging literature suggests that fetal exposure to maternal stress may be integral in determining child self-regulatory capacity, the complex pathways that characterize these early developmental processes remain unclear. The current study considers these complex, transactional processes in a low income, Mexican American sample. Data were collected from 295 Mexican American infants and their mothers during prenatal, 6- and 12-week postpartum home interviews. Mother reports of stress were obtained prenatally, and mother reports of infant temperament were obtained at 6 weeks. Observer ratings of maternal sensitivity and infant regulatory behaviors were obtained at the 6- and 12-week time points. Study results indicate that prenatal stress predicts higher levels of infant negativity and surgency, both of which directly or interactively predict later engagement in regulatory behaviors. Unexpectedly, prenatal stress also predicted more engagement in orienting, but not self-comforting behaviors. Advancing understandings about the nature of these developmental pathways may have significant implications for targets of early intervention in this high risk population.     

Attachment status and salivary cortisol in a normal day and during simulated interpersonal stress in young men

Attachment insecurity, as assessed via the adult attachment interview (AAI), may be expected to relate to basal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activity because it is retrodictive of stressful early experiences, which may influence HPA development. In addition, because AAI insecurity may reflect limitations on concurrent cognitive, emotional, and behavioral strategies for managing interpersonal distress, insecurity may also relate to cortisol reactivity specifically during inter-personal challenges. Nevertheless, only two studies have examined associations between AAI insecurity and cortisol, and in total only eight non-clinical men were included. To expand upon past research, the current study focused on college aged men and examined relations between attachment status (via categories and continuous scores) and cortisol levels during daily life and during interpersonal laboratory challenges, wherein subjects were asked to visualize and respond to hypothetical situations concerning loss, separation, and abandonment. Unlike prior research, salivary cortisol was measured during cognitive challenges (e.g. non-autobiographical memory tests), so as to inform questions concerning the specificity of effects. Contrary to expectations, only limited evidence suggested a relation between insecurity and basal HPA functioning. However, in keeping with expectations, associations between insecurity, and in particular dismissing idealization, and comparatively higher cortisol values following interpersonal challenges were observed.     

The effects of exposure to an acute naturalistic stressor on working memory, state anxiety and salivary cortisol concentrations

Exposure to an acute naturalistic stressor induces both psychological and physiological changes in humans. The two studies reported here explored the impact of exposure to an acute naturalistic stressor on state anxiety, working memory and HPA axis activation (salivary cortisol). In both experiments, ten healthy male participants were exposed to an acute naturalistic stressor, helicopter underwater evacuation training (HUET), and their physiological and behavioural responses before (first study) and after (second study) the stressor were compared to ten non-stressed controls. The results of both experiments showed that working memory performance was preserved during anticipation of an acute stressor, but impairments were observed immediately after stress exposure. Participants reported significantly higher state anxiety levels during anticipation and following stress exposure, whereas significant elevations in cortisol levels were only observed 25 min post exposure to stress, but not before or immediately after stress exposure. The results of both experiments demonstrated a dissociation between behavioural and biochemical measures and provided evidence for a dissociation of the effects of stress on cognitive and physiological measures depending on the time of testing, with cognitive impairments most evident following stress exposure.     

Temporal performance in 4-8 year old children. The effect of chronometric information in task execution

The present study explores temporal performance in children between 4 and 11 years of age. In order to optimise the children's performance, verbal instructions and demonstrations were used to specify the temporal requirement of the task. Moreover, specific feedback was given, which indicated the success of a response, or, in case of a mistake, indicated the type of error made. The task was presented in two phases: training and experimental. In the first phase, the child practised until a learning criterion was reached. In the experimental phase, four conditions were defined according to the information provided to the children. In general, the results of the training phase showed an improvement in performance with advancing age. Significant differences were found in children between 7 and 8 years of age, which points to an important transition period. Results of the experimental phase showed a pronounced impact of instructions on the performance of the task and on the strategies used to control timing behaviour. Specifically, the instructions that contained chronometric information caused an impairment in task performance and a change in the strategy used.     

Perceived stress,recurrent pain,and aggregate salivary cortisol measures in mid‐adolescent girls and boys

Measures of perceived stress have been criticized for theoretical inconsistency. However, the validated pressure activation stress scale has been suggested as a theoretically sound alternative. But it is unclear how pressure and activation stress relate to objective and subjective measures including commonly used aggregate cortisol measures and health complaints respectively. Specifically, this study aimed at investigating how pressure and activation stress were related to aggregate salivary cortisol measures and recurrent pain in mid‐adolescent girls and boys. Mid‐adolescents (119 girls and 56 boys) provided self‐reports in questionnaires on activation and pressure stress and recurrent pain (headache, stomach ache, neck/shoulder and back pain). Additionally, adolescents sampled saliva during an ordinary school day: (1) immediately at awakening; (2) 30 minutes after waking up; (3) 60 minutes after waking up, and (4) at 8 p.m. These samples were analyzed for cortisol. Hierarchical regressions showed no statistically significant associations between activation and pressure stress and cortisol, neither for girls nor for boys. However, activation and pressure stress were significantly associated with recurrent pain but only for girls. The findings may relate to subjective and objective measures reflecting distinct aspects of stress‐related functioning. However, the study participants included mid‐adolescents whose bodily systems are flexible and still relatively unaffected by the strain of their daily stress perceptions. To conclude, the non‐significant relationships between activation and pressure stress and commonly used aggregate measures of cortisol adds to the understanding of how perceived stress may relate to physiological functioning in the daily life of adolescents when using such aggregate measures.     

Effects of motion and audio-visual redundancy on upright and inverted face and feature preferences in 4-13-month old pre- and full-term NICU graduates

NICU infants are reported to have diminished social orientation and increased risk of socio-communicative disorders. In this eye tracking study, we used a preference for upright compared to inverted faces as a gauge of social interest in high medical risk full- and pre-term NICU infants. We examined the effects of facial motion and audio-visual redundancy on face and eye/mouth preferences across the first year. Upright and inverted baby faces were simultaneously presented in a paired-preference paradigm with motion and synchronized vocalization varied. NICU risk factors including birth weight, sex, and degree of CNS injury were examined. Overall, infants preferred the more socially salient upright faces, making this the first report, to our knowledge, of an upright compared to inverted face preference among high medical risk NICU infants. Infants with abnormalities on cranial ultrasound displayed lower social interest, i.e. less of a preferential interest in upright faces, when viewing static faces. However, motion selectively increased their upright face looking time to a level equal that of infants in other CNS injury groups. We also observed an age-related sex effect suggesting higher risk in NICU males. Females increased their attention to the mouth in upright faces across the first year, especially between 7–10 months, but males did not. Although vocalization increased diffuse attention toward the screen, contrary to our predictions, there was no evidence that the audio-visual redundancy embodied in a vocalizing face focused additional attention on upright faces or mouths. This unexpected result may suggest a vulnerability in response to talking faces among NICU infants that could potentially affect later verbal and socio-communicative development.     

Salivary cortisol concentrations, stress and quality of life in women with endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain

The objective of this study was to evaluate the perceived stress index, quality of life, and hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis activity in women with endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain. For the study, 93 women with endometriosis and 82 healthy women volunteered. The visual analogue scale (VAS) (0=no pain; 10=severe pain) was used to determine pain intensity; the perceived stress questionnaire (PSQ) defined stress index, and the health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL)-SF-36 questionnaire was used to evaluate quality of life. Salivary cortisol was measured at 0800, 1600, and 2000 h and the awakening cortisol response was assessed to evaluate the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis activity. The results show that women with endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain of moderate intensity (4.1+/-0.58, mean+/-SEM) have higher levels of perceived stress (0.55+/-0.01 versus 0.42+/-0.01, p<0.05), a poorer quality of life expressed as lower scores for all items of the inventory and hypocortisolism. Lower levels of salivary cortisol were observed in all three samples collected, as well as in the awakening cortisol response, for women with endometriosis (0.19+/-0.09 microg/dl) when compared with controls (0.78+/-0.08 microg/dl, p<0.05 l), and it was independent of pain intensity and Mental health (MH) scores in SF-36. We concluded that women with endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain show low concentrations of salivary cortisol and a high level of perceived stress, associated with a poor quality of life. Whether the hypocortisolism was an adaptive response to the aversive symptoms of the disorder or a feature related to the etiology of endometriosis remains to be elucidated.     

Cognitive performance and morning levels of salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase in children reporting high vs. low daily stress perception

The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of daily stress perception on cognitive performance and morning basal salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase levels in healthy children aged 9-12. Participants were classified by whether they had low daily perceived stress (LPS, n = 27) or a high daily perceived stress (HPS, n = 26) using the Children Daily Stress Inventory (CDSI). Salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase were measured at awakening and 30 minutes later. Cognitive performance was assessed using the Cognitive Drug Research assessment system. The HPS group exhibited significantly poorer scores on speed of memory (p < .05) and continuity of attention (p < .05) relative to the LPS group. The HPS group also showed significantly lower morning cortisol levels at awakening and at +30 minutes measures in comparison with the LPS group (p < .05), and mean morning cortisol levels were negatively correlated with speed of memory (p < .05) in the 53 participants. No significant differences were observed between both groups in alpha-amylase levels. These findings suggest that daily perceived stress in children may impoverish cognitive performance via its modulating effects on the HPA axis activity.     

Maternal and paternal plasma, salivary, and urinary oxytocin and parent-infant synchrony: considering stress and affiliation components of human bonding

Studies in mammals have implicated the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) in processes of bond formation and stress modulation, yet the involvement of OT in human bonding throughout life remains poorly understood. We assessed OT in the plasma, saliva, and urine of 112 mothers and fathers interacting with their 4-6-month-old infants. Parent-infant interactions were micro-coded for parent and child's social behaviors and for the temporal coordination of their socio-affective cues. Parents were interviewed regarding their attachment to the infant and reported on bonding to own parents, romantic attachment, and parenting stress. Results indicated that OT in plasma (pOT) and saliva (sOT) were inter-related and were unrelated to OT in urine (uOT). pOT and sOT in mothers and fathers were associated with parent and child's social engagement, affect synchrony, and positive communicative sequences between parent and child. uOT was related to moments of interactive stress among mothers only, indexed by the co-occurrence of infant negative engagement and mother re-engagement attempts. pOT and sOT were associated with mothers' and fathers' attachment relationships throughout life: to own parents, partner, and infant, whereas uOT correlated with relationship anxiety and parenting stress among mothers only. Similar to other mammals, OT is involved in human attachment and contingent parenting. The dual role of OT in stress and affiliation underscores its complex involvement in processes of social bonding throughout life.     

Disfluency characteristics of 2-, 4-, and 6- yr-old males

Fluency characteristics of 36 nonstuttering males aged 2, 4, and 6 yr are presented in terms of patterns of disfluency and relationships among disfluency variables. The most frequently occuring disfluency types at each age level were revision-incomplete phrase and interjections; the least noted type was part-word repetitions for 2- and 4-yr olds and disrhythmic phonations for 6-yr-olds. Patterns of disfluency appear to be similar at all age levels studied, except that the 2-yr-old pattern showed greater magnitudes in various disfluency types. A range exists in the relationships among individual disfluency types, from moderately strong relationships between, for example, revision-incomplete phrase and interjections to lack of linear relationships between, for example, interjections and phrase repetitions. A linguistic factor may be strong within certain disfluency types. e.g., revision-incomplete phrase, interjections, and word repetitions, whereas a motor factor may be operative in others, e.g., part-word repetitions and disrhythmic phonations.     

Eating-related problems among 13-15 year old Swedish adolescents: Frequency and stability over a one-year period

Viborg, N., Wångby‐Lundh, M., Lundh, L.‐G. & Johnsson P. (2012). Eating‐related problems among 13‐15 year old Swedish adolescents: Frequency and stability over a one‐year period. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 53, 401–406. The frequency of eating‐related problems in young adolescents, and their stability over a one‐year period, was studied by the RiBED‐8 (Risk Behaviours related to Eating Disorders, 8 items) in a community sample of 13–15 year old adolescents who took part in a prospective study with a 2‐wave longitudinal design. The RiBED‐8 was found to have good reliability and construct validity among the girls, although it did not show equally convincing psychometric properties among boys. With a cut‐off of at least three critical answers on the RiBED‐8, 28.5–31.0% of the girls were seen as risk cases for the development of eating disorder. Of those girls who were risk cases at Time 1, a majority (68.8%) remained so at Time 2; of those girls who were not risk cases at Time 1, 16.1% became risk cases at Time 2. It is suggested that the RiBED‐8 is a brief, easily administered instrument that may be potentially useful in screening for eating‐related problems among girls.     

Consequences of ‘tiger’ parenting: a cross‐cultural study of maternal psychological control and children's cortisol stress response

Parenting strategies involving psychological control are associated with increased adjustment problems in children. However, no research has examined the extent to which culture and psychological control predict children's stress physiology. We examine cultural differences in maternal psychological control and its associations with children's cortisol. Chinese (N = 59) and American (N = 45) mother‐child dyads participated in the study. Mothers reported on psychological control. Children's cortisol was collected during a stressor and two indices of Area Under the Curve (AUC) were computed: AUCg which accounts for total output, and AUCi, which captures reactivity. Results indicate that Chinese mothers reported higher levels of psychological control and Chinese children had higher levels of AUCg than their American counterparts. Across both cultures, psychological control was significantly associated with increased cortisol levels as indexed by AUCg. There were no associations for AUCi. Finally, mediation analyses demonstrated that psychological control fully explained cultural differences in children's cortisol stress response as indexed by AUCg.     

幼儿动作发展与动作抑制研究

运用《儿童动作评估检查表》和停止信号任务,通过教师评定和即时行为实验方法,对40名4～6岁幼儿的动作发展水平、动作发展的内部结构、动作抑制的发展趋势和动作抑制与动作一般发展水平之间的关系进行了详细探讨。结果发现,4～6岁幼儿的动作处于一个迅速发展的时期;幼儿在自身与环境的静止或变动情况下,动作发展水平存在不平衡现象,当儿童自身静止并处于静止的环境中时,动作发展水平显著高于儿童自身移动和环境变动状态下的动作水平;男孩与女孩在动作发展的特定条件下存在差异。同时还发现,幼儿的动作反应抑制能力存在明显的年龄发展趋势,随着幼儿年龄的增长,其动作反应抑制能力增强;动作反应抑制能力与一般动作发展水平之间存在显著相关。