The relationship between morningness/eveningness (M/E) and morning-to-afternoon cortisol ratio, pubertal timing, and antisocial behavior was examined in 111 girls and boys ages 8 to 13 years. Cortisol levels showed a significant increase after awakening and declined thereafter (p<.05). Eveningness was related to a composite measure of antisocial behavior and rule-breaking and attention behavior problems and conduct disorder (CD) symptoms in boys and relational aggression in girls. In boys only, lower a.m. to p.m. cortisol ratio, indicating less circadian decrease in cortisol, was related to attention problems. Early pubertal timing was associated with boys' rule-breaking and attention behavior problems and CD symptoms and girls' relational aggression. The findings indicate that evening activity preference; extreme a.m. to p.m. cortisol ratios, in one case; and early pubertal timing were associated with antisocial behavior even in young adolescents, but the findings were stronger for boys than for girls.
Although previous research has suggested cortisol-emotion relationships, little is known regarding the effect of anxiety type on cortisol levels or relationships between anxiety and longitudinal cortisol change in adolescents. The authors examine the differential relationship of cortisol levels with generalized and social anxiety and relationships between longitudinal cortisol change and anxiety in 106 youth ages 9 through 14. Cortisol levels were assessed three times at 6-month intervals; anxiety sections of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children were administered at the final occasion of measurement. In girls, cortisol exhibited positive relationships with concurrent general and social anxiety. Greater cortisol increase across the year predicted higher general and social anxiety in girls at the end of the study. No significant relationships were found in boys. Sex differences may reflect differences in the physiology of anxiety or in selfreports of emotion.
The chapter examines puberty from the perspective of biopsychosocial models of development, specifically, the developmental contextualism model and the holistic interactionism model of development. The endocrinology of puberty is reviewed, including the phases of adrenarche and gonadarche, mechanisms controlling the onset of puberty, and physical growth and development during puberty. Hormones appear to have a greater influence on adolescents' emotions and behavior than pubertal stage per se . Testosterone, estrogen, and adrenal androgens show associations with antisocial and aggressive behavior, depression, and sexual behavior. The timing of puberty, relative to peers, studies suggest that it has long‐term psychosocial implications, particularly for early maturers. Current areas of research on the timing of puberty include secular trends in the timing of puberty, effects of pubertal timing on adult physical and mental health, and mechanisms whereby stress may influence pubertal timing. Issues of emerging sexuality at puberty also are discussed. Adolescent sexuality is influenced by hormonal factors, body fat, and social influences. The chapter concludes with a discussion of implications for research and social policy, including the content of educational programs on puberty, the timing of prevention programs, and principles to guide future research.
Anxiety is prevalent in adolescents and may be particularly problematic in pregnant adolescents. The purpose of this structural equation modeling analysis was to test a biobehavioral model in which postpartum selfcompetence mediated pathways from anxiety and cortisol during pregnancy to anxiety 3 years later. Self-reports of anxiety and self-competence and salivary cortisol samples were obtained from 78 healthy primiparous and 57 nonpregnant comparison adolescent girls matched for age and socioeconomic status. Assessments were done during the first half of pregnancy, 3-4 weeks after childbirth, and at a 3-year follow up. For pregnant girls, linkages from initial anxiety to self-competence to follow-up anxiety were significant and negative, as hypothesized. Direct and indirect pathways between initial and follow-up anxiety were significant. Cortisol levels did not predict self-competence or anxiety. For nonpregnant adolescents, the model fit poorly. Findings suggest self-competence may play a mediating role in young mothers' anxiety across time.JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE, 15(4), 625-655
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