Relationship between Cortisol Responses to Stress and Personality

Oswald, Lynn M.; Zandi, Peter P.; Nestadt, Gerald; Potash, James B.; Kalaydjian, Amanda; Wand, Gary S.

doi:10.1038/sj.npp.1301012

Cited by 231 publications

(166 citation statements)

References 73 publications

(77 reference statements)

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“…In addition, anxiety response scores were positively correlated with cortisol response levels in FHN subjects, but were negatively correlated in FHP subjects. It has been shown that mood and personality dimensions can influence cortisol responses to stress (Oswald et al, 2006). However, our subjects were healthy individuals without DSM-IV axis I diagnoses who did not differ on a comprehensive assessment of mood, anxiety, or personality dimensions at baseline.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hormonal Responses to Psychological Stress and Family History of Alcoholism

Uhart

Oswald

McCaul

et al. 2006

Neuropsychopharmacol

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The present study was designed to determine whether stress hormones and subjective responses to a psychological stressor were different in nonalcoholic offspring from families with a history of alcohol dependence (family history positive, FHP) than in nonalcoholic offspring without a family history of alcohol dependence (family history negative, FHN). Forty-five healthy subjects (17 FHP, 28 FHN), between the ages of 18 and 29 years, completed the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). The TSST consisted of 5 min of public speaking followed by 5 min of mental arithmetic. Three baseline and five post-TSST blood samples were drawn. Pre-and post-TSST self-report measures of anxiety were obtained. Cortisol, adrenocorticotropin (ACTH), and prolactin significantly increased in response to the TSST in the entire study sample (F (1,187) ¼ 70.22, po0.001, F (1,143) ¼ 33, po0.001, and F (1,134) ¼ 14.37, po0.001, respectively). Cortisol responses were influenced by an interaction between racial composition and family history of alcoholism (F (1,57) ¼ 4.50, p ¼ 0.038). Among Caucasian subjects, FHP subjects had greater cortisol response to the TSST compared to FHN subjects (F (1,57) ¼ 4.45, p ¼ 0.039). No family history effect was identified in African-American subjects. Adrenocorticotropin responses did not differ between FHP and FHN subjects. Adrenocorticotropin response was positively associated with baseline ACTH levels in FHN subjects (t ¼ 5.02, p ¼ o0.001), but not in FHP subjects. Prolactin responses did not differ between FHP and FHN subjects. Anxiety response scores (post-TSST scores minus pre-TSST scores) were higher in FHP subjects compared with FHN subjects (z ¼ À2.67, p ¼ 0.007). In addition, anxiety response scores were positively associated with cortisol response levels to the TSST in FHN subjects (t ¼ 4.52, po0.001). In contrast, anxiety responses were negatively associated with cortisol responses in FHP subjects (t ¼ À2.30, p ¼ 0.024). Our findings are consistent with theories that greater reactivity to stress is associated with greater risks for alcoholism. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the association between the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis hormonal response and the subjective perception of stress might be deranged in offspring of alcoholics.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hormonal Responses to Psychological Stress and Family History of Alcoholism

Uhart

Oswald

McCaul

et al. 2006

Neuropsychopharmacol

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“…Additional longitudinal models were used to test whether gender is an effect-modifier of race (i.e. whether the race effect on cortisol differed by gender) and also to adjust the race effect by years of education; income; anxiety measures that predicted hormone response with a P-value of <0.1; BDI-II scores; and NEO-PI-R neuroticism and extraversion scores (which our group has demonstrated to be predictive of cortisol responses to the TSST (Oswald et al, 2006). Furthermore, linear regression models were used to correlate the area-under-the-curve (AUC) for each hormone (cortisol, ACTH, and prolactin) with the change in the S-anxiety scores preand post-TSST for each race.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We found racial differences in cortisol and ACTH response that were independent of socioeconomic status, which has been shown to influences the HPA axis (Brandtstadter et al, 1991;Cohen et al, 2006;Steptoe et al, 2003). We were also able to control for several potential psychological differences, namely anxiety, mood, and personality components, the latter of which we recently found to be associated with cortisol responses to psychological stress (Oswald et al, 2006). We also controlled for gender, another possible determinant of this stress response (Uhart et al, 2006a).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Whites have a more robust hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis response to a psychological stressor than blacks

Chong¹,

Uhart²,

McCaul³

et al. 2008

Psychoneuroendocrinology

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SummaryObjective-Differences in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis response to stress may confer differences in susceptibility to a variety of diseases. We hypothesized that whites would differ from blacks in HPA axis response to a psychological stressor.Design-Healthy subjects aged 18-30 were recruited from Baltimore, Maryland. At initial assessment, they completed psychometric tests measuring anxiety, mood, and personality. Subjects then participated in the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), which consisted of 10 min of public speaking and mental arithmetic exercises. Subjective anxiety was measured immediately pre-and post-TSST. Race effects on cortisol, adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH), and prolactin responses to the TSST were analyzed by GEE longitudinal analysis methods. The analysis controlled for gender, baseline hormone levels, socioeconomic factors, anxiety, mood, and dimensions of personality.Results-Ninety-eight subjects participated in the TSST. Whites had 36% greater relative mean cortisol response than blacks (95% CI: 10%-67%, P = 0.004). Whites had significantly higher mean ACTH compared to blacks at 25 min after the start of the TSST, (35%, 95% CI: 16%-58% greater, P < 0.001). There was no difference in prolactin response. Of note, whites and blacks did not differ in subjective anxiety response to the TSST.Conclusions-In sum, we found that whites have a more robust HPA axis response to the TSST compared with blacks, even after controlling for several socioeconomic and psychological factors. In contrast, we observed no difference in prolactin response. There were no differences in subjective response to the TSST to explain the difference in HPA axis response. Further study is indicated to explain this finding and to test whether it can be extrapolated to other forms of stress.

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“…Then, we calculated the mean between the residual scores of Day 1 and Day 2. Post-task peak cortisol and peak testosterone were identified as the highest between the two post-task cortisol and testosterone concentrations, respectively (for the use of a similar procedure, see BuskeKirschbaum et al 2003;Oswald et al 2006;Wust et al 2004) Delta cortisol and delta testosterone were calculated as the difference between the log-transformed post-task peak and baseline levels. The amount and pattern of hormone secretion during the test were assessed by calculating the Area Under the Curve with respect to Increase (AUC-I) (e.g., Fekedulegn et al 2007).…”

Section: Saliva Samples and Hormonal Assaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autistic-Like Traits, Sociosexuality, and Hormonal Responses to Socially Stressful and Sexually Arousing Stimuli in Male College Students

Ponzi

Henry

Kubicki

et al. 2015

Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology

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We tested the hypothesis that autistic-like traits are associated with restricted sociosexuality and investigated the role of stress and sex hormones as potential physiological mechanisms underlying this association. Study participants were heterosexual male college students (n=107). Individuals with more autistic-like traits reported lower short-term mating orientation and less previous sexual experience. Autistic-like traits were associated with greater cortisol secretion during a Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) and greater testosterone and cortisol reactivity to a video with explicit erotic content. Cortisol secretion during the TSST was negatively correlated with short-term mating orientation. A mediation analysis suggested that cortisol reactivity to socially stressful stimuli may be one of the physiological mechanisms linking autistic-like traits and sociosexuality. These findings have implications for our understanding of autisticlike traits in normal populations, our knowledge of the relationship between psychosocial stress, sexual arousal, and sociosexuality, and also for research on the role of hormonal mechanisms in inter-individual variation in male life history strategies.

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Relationship between Cortisol Responses to Stress and Personality

Cited by 231 publications

References 73 publications

Hormonal Responses to Psychological Stress and Family History of Alcoholism

Hormonal Responses to Psychological Stress and Family History of Alcoholism

Whites have a more robust hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis response to a psychological stressor than blacks

Autistic-Like Traits, Sociosexuality, and Hormonal Responses to Socially Stressful and Sexually Arousing Stimuli in Male College Students

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