State and trait coping is differentially linked to cortisol and alpha amylase recovery from acute psychosocial stress

Maternal attachment avoidance is linked to youth diurnal cortisol slopes in children with asthma

“…Individuals' adult attachment orientations affect their own health and health-related biological outcomes (Pietromonaco et al, 2013). For instance, highly anxious individuals have higher cortisol output and more dysregulated cellular immune responses than individuals lower in attachment anxiety (Jaremka et al, 2013). The effects of attachment on health-relevant biomarkers are even more pronounced in stressful situations: Insecurely attached individuals (i.e., high in anxiety and/or avoidance) have greater cortisol reactivity to conflict (Laurent & Powers, 2007;Powers, Pietromonaco, Gunlicks, & Sayer, 2006) and other social stressors (e.g., Ditzen et al, 2008;Kidd, Hamer, & Steptoe, 2011;Quirin, Pruessner, & Kuhl, 2008), and avoidant individuals have an increased inflammatory response following conflict discussions (Gouin et al, 2009).…”

“…A recent meta-analysis reported a robust association between flatter diurnal cortisol slopes and worse long-term health outcomes, including cancer (cancer effect size, r = .23; average effect size across all health outcomes, r = .15; Adam, Quinn, Tavernier, McQuillan, Dahlke, & Gilbert, 2017). Furthermore, cortisol levels and functioning, specifically diurnal cortisol decline, have been shown to be responsive to both acute and chronic stressors, particularly social stressors (Adam et al, 2017;Janson & Rohleder, 2017;Miller et al, 2007). Children's attachment to their parents has been shown to be linked with their diurnal cortisol profiles, such that children with disorganized attachment tend to have flatter cortisol slopes than those with non-disorganized attachment (Luijik et al, 2010), and anxiously attached children/adolescents tend to have a reduced cortisol awakening response (Oskis et al, 2011).…”