Journal
PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY
Volume 37, Issue 1, Pages 157-161Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2011.05.009
Keywords
Nonsuicidal self-injury; Adolescents; Stress; HPA axis; Cortisol; TSST; Borderline personality disorder
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Funding
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Heidelberg
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Objective: To investigate the neuroendocrinological stress response to acute psychosocial stress in a clinical sample of female adolescents engaging in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). Methods: The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), a standardized psychosocial stress protocol, was performed in 14 female patients who engaged in NSSI and 14 healthy control subjects. NSSI was assessed by the Functional Assessment of Self-Mutilation (FASM). Salivary cortisol, heart rate, and affective states, assessed by the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), were measured during the TSST. Results: We found an attenuated cortisol response to acute psychosocial stress in female adolescents with NSSI, whereas no group differences were observed in heart rate and emotional response to the TSST. Conclusions: These findings indicate that the HPA axis is hyporesponsive in adolescents with NSSI. Therefore, reduced secretion of cortisol could play a role in promoting vulnerability of these individuals to acute stress and maladaptive stress responses. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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