Individual differences in preschoolers' salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase reactivity: Relations to temperament and maladjustment

Abstract

We examined the relations of 84 preschoolers' (43 boys; mean age = 54 months) situational stress reactivity to their observed emotions and mothers' reports of temperament and adjustment. Salivary cortisol and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) were collected prior to, and following, a frustrating task. Children's anger, sadness, and positive affect were measured, and mothers reported on preschoolers' dispositional emotionality, regulation, impulsivity, and problem behaviors. Forty-seven percent of children had an increase in sAA and 52% had an increase in cortisol following the challenging task. On average, sAA levels showed the predicted pattern of rise following the frustrating task, followed by return to baseline. For cortisol, there was a mean increase from pre-task to 40 minutes post-test. sAA reactivity was associated with relatively low levels of dispositional anger and impulsivity and relatively high regulation, particularly for girls. sAA reactivity also was related to low externalizing problems for girls, but not boys. Although cortisol reactivity was unrelated to children's emotions and maladjustment, it was positively related to mothers' reports of regulation. The findings suggest that sAA reactivity in response to a frustrating social task may reflect girls' constrained behavior.In recent years, a growing body of literature has advanced our understanding of the role of emotional reactivity and regulation on children's social functioning (Eisenberg, Spinrad, et al., 2004;Rothbart & Bates, 2006;Spinrad et al., 2007). Increasingly, investigators have employed multi-level measurements of behavioral and psychobiological reactivity and regulation in an effort to further advance theory (e.g., Cicchetti & Blender, 2004). Thus far, the majority of empirical work has focused on integrating minimally invasive measures (in saliva) of the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis; however, technical advances have recently enabled developmental researchers to also include salivary measures of the activity of the sympathetic nervous system (e.g., . The present study is among the first to examine the correlates and concomitants of salivary markers of both the HPA axis and the SNS in preschoolers in response to a social frustration.Correspondence concerning this article can be emailed to the first author at E-mail: tspinrad@asu.edu. Tracy L. Spinrad, Arizona State University, School of Social and Family Dynamics, PO Box 873701; Tempe,. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. One of the main components of the psychobiology of stress involves th...

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Salivary cytokines as a minimally‐invasive measure of immune functioning in young children: Correlates of individual differences and sensitivity to laboratory stress

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