Journal
STRESS-THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL ON THE BIOLOGY OF STRESS
Volume 24, Issue 6, Pages 1064-1068Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/10253890.2021.1955852
Keywords
Stress; cortisol; alpha-amylase; racism; interpersonal trauma; neighborhood violence
Funding
- Institutional Development Award (IDeA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health [5P20GM109097]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The study found that social adversity influenced biological responses to stress in African American emerging adults, resulting in an asymmetrical pattern between cortisol and sAA reactivity, indicating atypical diurnal rhythm.
Chronic stress is linked to social adversity and underlies many health disparities among ethnic minorities. Cortisol and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) reflect sensitivity to adversity and are related to health outcomes. Our aim was to understand how social adversity influences biological responses to experimental and daily stressors in a sample of low-income African American emerging adults. In the three-week study, participants completed questionnaires, the Trier Social Stress Task (TSST), and provided four salivary samples. In week 2, participants collected saliva at home immediately after waking and just before bed for three days. Results demonstrated an asymmetrical pattern between cortisol and sAA reactivity that was related to experiences with racism and interpersonal trauma. Further, daily stress was related to lower morning and higher nighttime cortisol, indicating atypical diurnal rhythm. These findings are consistent with other forms of social adversity that lead to long-term changes in the HPA axis response pattern.LAY SUMMARY African American emerging adults showed divergent cortisol and sAA responses. Social adversity predicted an asymmetrical response pattern for sAA and cortisol. Atypical diurnal rhythms were found for participants reporting high daily stress.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available