This study examined salivary cortisol, a stress-sensitive hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis hormone in 20 infants (12 females; M age = 10.8 months) and 35 toddlers (20 females; M age = 29.7 months) in full-day, center-based child care. Samples were taken at approximately 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. at child care and at home. At child care, 35% of infants and 71% of toddlers showed a rise in cortisol across the day; at home, 71% of infants and 64% of toddlers showed decreases. Toddlers who played more with peers exhibited lower cortisol. Controlling age, teacher-reported social fearfulness predicted higher afternoon cortisol and larger cortisol increases across the day at child care. This phenomenon may indicate context-specific activation of the HPA axis early in life.
Sixty‐one 3‐ to 5‐year‐old nursery school children participated in a study of tempera ment and stress responses to competition. Each child individually participated in a competition against a familiar adult experimenter to determine who would win enough games to receive a prize. After initially winning three games (Win Period), the children lost the next three games (Lose Period), before winning the final games and receiving the prize. Salivary cortisol, vagal tone, affect and turn‐taking behavior were measured in response to the competition and examined in relation to child temperament using a teacher‐report version of the Child Behavior Questionnaire. Behavioral measures indicated that the procedures were emotionally engaging and the threat of losing was aversive. Surgency (extroversion) was positively correlated with positive affect during Win periods and tense/angry affect during the Lose period of the competition. Vagal tone decreased as the children began to play against the adult and children who were more tense/angry while losing showed additional suppression of vagal tone when they began to lose the competition. Most of the children did not show a cortisol response to the competition; however, the 15% who increased cortisol (responses >1 SD of classroom baselines) were described by teachers as more surgent and lower in effortful control. All but one of these children who increased in cortisol was male. Cortisol responsive children also displayed higher levels of tense/angry affect during the Lose period. Surgent, extroverted children appear to be vulnerable to competition stress. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 37: 209–220, 2000
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