Social Behavior Correlates of Cortisol Activity in Child Care: Gender Differences and Time-of-Day Effects

Abstract

The relations between social behavior and daily patterns of a stress-sensitive hormone production were examined in preschool children (N = 75) attending center-based child care. Three behavioral dimensions, shy/anxious/internalizing, angry/aggressive/externalizing, and social competence, were assessed by teacher report and classroom observation, and their relations with 2 measures of cortisol activity, median (or typical) levels and reactivity (quartile range score between second and third quartile values) were explored. Cortisol-behavior relations differed by gender: significant associations were found for boys but not for girls. Specifically, for boys externalizing behavior was positively associated with cortisol reactivity, while internalizing behavior was negatively associated with median cortisol. Time of day of cortisol measurement affected the results. Surprisingly, median cortisol levels rose from morning to afternoon, a pattern opposite to that of the typical circadian rhythm of cortisol. This rise in cortisol over the day was positively correlated with internalizing behavior for boys. The methodological and theoretical implications of these findings for the study of the development of hormone-behavior relations are discussed.

Gender-specific differences in hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis activity during childhood: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Animal studies have suggested that patterns in receptor expression develop in a gender-specific manner from birth onwards [24]. In humans, behavioral patterns that impact a child’s stress vulnerability have been associated with gender-specific changes in cortisol levels from age 1.5 years onwards [11, 25]. Therefore, even in our sample of normal children, gender-specific effects of stress exposure could be an explanation for our results [9].…”

The developmental course of salivary alpha-amylase and cortisol from 12 to 36 months: Relations with early poverty and later behavior problems

“…For example, low baseline cortisol is associated with higher externalizing symptoms in children concurrently (Granger et al, 1994;Shirtcliff et al, 2005;Tout et al, 1998;van Goozen et al, 2000) and with increases in externalizing symptoms longitudinally (McBurnett et al, 2000). Findings are less clear concerning the relation of cortisol to internalizing symptoms, though most studies suggest that high levels of cortisol predict greater likelihood of internalizing symptoms (Granger et al, 1994;Gunnar et al, 1997;Hart et al, 1995;Kagan et al, 1987;Schmidt et al, 1997).…”

Transition to Kindergarten: Negative Associations between the Emotional Availability in Mother–Child Relationships and Elevated Cortisol Levels in Children with an Immigrant Background

“…Research efforts to understand stress reactivity at child care have demonstrated that variables such as the caregiving quality (Tout et al, 1998; Dettling et al, 2000; Sims et al, 2006; Watamura et al, 2009) as well as the attachment to mothers (Ahnert et al, 2004) and teachers (Badanes et al, 2012) influence the increase of cortisol during child care. It has been postulated that through their contingent and sensitive interactions with their primary caregiver, securely attached children develop regulatory capacities that allow them to modulate stress reactions more effectively.…”