Journal
PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY
Volume 69, Issue -, Pages 172-179Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.04.007
Keywords
HPA; Cortisol; Depression; Anxiety; Interpersonal conflict; Gender differences
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Funding
- National Institute of Mental Health [R01 MH60228-01A1]
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Clinical theories posit interpersonal stress as an important factor in the emergence and exacerbation of depression and anxiety, while neuroendocrine research confirms the association of these syndromes with dysregulation in a major stress response system, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. However, the proposal that depression and anxiety symptoms and diagnoses are associated with problematic HPA responses to close relationship stress has not been directly tested. We examined 196 heterosexual dating couples' depression and anxiety symptoms and diagnoses, assessed with questionnaires and diagnostic interviews, in relation to cortisol responses to discussion of an unresolved relationship conflict. Participants provided seven salivary samples in anticipation of and directly following the discussion, and throughout an hour-long recovery period, which were assayed for cortisol. Multilevel models of the HPA response predicted by symptoms or diagnoses showed that women's depressive symptoms predicted attenuated cortisol levels, with a flatter response curve. In contrast, men's depression symptoms and women's anxiety symptoms and diagnoses predicted higher cortisol levels. These findings highlight the importance of examining sex differences in responses to interpersonal stressors for understanding HPA dysregulation in internalizing psychopathology. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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