Hormones: Commentary: Riding the Physiological Roller Coaster: Adaptive Significance of Cortisol Stress Reactivity to Social Contexts

Shirtcliff, Elizabeth A.; Peres, Jeremy C.; Dismukes, Andrew R.; Lee, Yoojin; Phan, Jenny

doi:10.1521/pedi.2014.28.1.40

Cited by 80 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…19 In older individuals, where the physiologic regulation of the stress response systems is less pliable and variable, the negative trajectory of these changes becomes more apparent. Although the downstream health consequences of exposure to high levels of early life adversity are readily observed in adults, [20][21][22] validation of useful biomarkers within youth remains challenging.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Association of Telomere Length With Family Violence and Disruption

et al. 2014

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WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT: Poor health in children is associated with exposure to family violence and disruption. Telomere length has been hypothesized to be a lasting biological indicator of exposure to early adversity and potentially predictive of negative health outcomes throughout the life course. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS:Telomere length reflects exposure to family violence and disruption and may be an early indicator of the biological impact of early adversity. Children exposed to interpersonal violence and family disruptions had significantly shorter telomeres. Gender moderated these associations. abstract BACKGROUND: To enhance the understanding of biological mechanisms connecting early adversity and negative health, we examine the association between family interpersonal violence and disruption and telomere length in youth. These specific exposures were selected because of their established links with negative health consequences across the life-course.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Association of Telomere Length With Family Violence and Disruption

et al. 2014

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“…The adaptive calibration model argues that humans take in environmental inputs and calibrate their stress response system to match their surroundings (Del Giudice et al, 2011;Shirtcliff et al, 2014). High or rising cortisol is expected in cases when individuals are engaged with their environment, are in situations that are personally relevant, or are facing a difficult (but manageable) challenge; low or diminishing cortisol is expected in cases when an individual is disengaged from the environment or a challenge is impossible or no longer novel (Del Giudice et al, 2011;Dickerson & Kemeny, 2004;Shirtcliff et al, 2012Shirtcliff et al, , 2014. The particular diurnal pattern likely depends on what is adaptive in the primary socialization environment.…”

Section: Life Stress and The Hpa Axis (Pathway B)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Stress, Sleep, and Performance on Standardized Tests: Understudied Pathways to the Achievement Gap

Heissel¹,

Levy

Adam³

2017

AERA Open

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Children from low-socioeconomic status (SES) and racial-/ethnic-minority groups score lower on average on standardized academic tests relative to high-SES and White families, respectively (Bradbury, Corak, Waldfogel, & Washbrook, 2015;Reardon, 2011). Many factors contribute to the achievement gap, including class size, teacher characteristics, parent participation, and hunger and nutrition (Barton & Coley, 2009). Although acknowledging these factors, the present paper focuses on an understudied component of the achievement gap: how biological stress responses associated with stress exposure affect performance on standardized tests. Stress exposures come from school, home, and neighborhood factors and can affect the functioning of multiple stresssensitive biological systems. We focus here on two such systems: the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and sleep. As we show, stress-related alterations in these systems can affect students' learning and test-taking experience. We argue that achievement gaps are at least partly driven by differential stress exposure and biological stress responses between groups. The Stress Disparity ModelHere we provide a brief overview of a theoretical model of how stress exposure and resulting biological stress responses might affect academic achievement as measured by standardized tests. We call this model the stress disparity model. Figure 1 displays the pathways of this model; Figure 2 focuses on the outcomes measured as an achievement gap. We present evidence for this model throughout the paper.We begin by noting that low-SES and racial-/ethnicminority children are more likely to be exposed to stressful life events relative to higher-income or White students (Pathway A; Hatch & Dohrenwend, 2007;Repetti, Taylor, & Seeman, 2002

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“…Importantly, putative dysregulation is not physiological maladaptation, but rather adaptation of the individual’s physiology to a difficult or undesirable social environment (Ellis, Del Giudice, & Shirtcliff, 2013). Adaptive does not mean desirable, but rather shifts the focus on the social determinants of health in order to show how the dysregulation of individual’s physiological response unfolds in response to stressful environments (Shirtcliff, Peres, Dismukes, Lee, & Phan, 2014). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Reactivity to Acute Stress: an Investigation into the Roles of Perceived Stress and Family Resources

et al. 2017

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Objective Rurally situated African Americans suffer from chronic exposure to stress that may have a deleterious effect on health outcomes. Unfortunately, research on potential mechanisms that underlie health disparities affecting the African American community has received limited focus in the scientific literature. This study investigated the relationship between perceived stress, family resources, and cortisol reactivity to acute stress. Method A rural sample of African American emerging adults (N = 60) completed a battery of assessments, the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), and provided four samples of salivary cortisol: prior to receiving TSST instructions, prior to conducting the speech task, immediately following the TSST, and 15–20 minutes following the TSST. Results As predicted, cortisol levels increased in response to a controlled laboratory inducement of acute stress. Moreover, diminished levels of family resources were associated with blunted cortisol reactivity to acute stress. Of note, higher levels of perceived stress over the past month and being male were independently associated with lower levels of cortisol at baseline. Conclusions Lack of family resources had a blunting relationship on HPA-Axis reactivity. These findings provide biomarker support for the relationship between family resources – an indicator associated with social determinants of health – and stress physiology within a controlled laboratory experiment. Identifying mechanisms that work toward explanation of within-group differences in African American health disparities is both needed and informative for culturally-informed prevention and intervention efforts.

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Hormones: Commentary: Riding the Physiological Roller Coaster: Adaptive Significance of Cortisol Stress Reactivity to Social Contexts

Cited by 80 publications

References 81 publications

The Association of Telomere Length With Family Violence and Disruption

The Association of Telomere Length With Family Violence and Disruption

Stress, Sleep, and Performance on Standardized Tests: Understudied Pathways to the Achievement Gap

Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Reactivity to Acute Stress: an Investigation into the Roles of Perceived Stress and Family Resources

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