Flora Smyth Zahra, Jayne Pearson, Kim Piper
The 'Clinical Humanities & Wellbeing programme'- sustainable healthcare education for an era of uncertainty
International review of psychiatry (Abingdon, England)
home baseline laboratory stressor trier social stress test children measures salivary cortisol obtained 82 participants 40 girls aged 9 11 13 15 years measures pubertal development selfreported stress parent reports child depressive symptoms fearful temperament cardiac measures sympathetic parasympathetic activity also obtained significant increases home cortisol baselines found age pubertal development cortisol stress reactivity differed age group 11yearolds 13yearold boys showing blunted reactivity 9yearolds 13yearold girls 15yearolds showing significant cortisol reactions cortisol reactivity correlated marginally sexual maturation measures sympathetic activity revealed increased sympathetic modulation age higher sympathetic tone associated fearful temperament whereas greater cortisol reactivity associated anxious depressed symptoms girls importance findings hypothesis pubertyassociated increases hypothalamicpituitaryadrenal axis activity heightens risk psychopathology discussed