Exposure to Violence Predicting Cortisol Response During Adolescence and Early Adulthood: Understanding Moderating Factors

Details

• Alternative Title:
  J Youth Adolesc
• Personal Author:
  Aiyer, Sophie M. ; Heinze, Justin E. ; Miller, Alison L. ; Stoddard, Sarah A. ; Zimmerman, Marc A.
• Description:
  Previous research on the association between violence and biological stress regulation has been largely cross-sectional, and has also focused on childhood. Using longitudinal data from a low-income, high-risk, predominantly African-American sample (n = 266; 57 % female), we tested hypotheses about the influence of cumulative exposure to violence during adolescence and early adulthood on cortisol responses in early adulthood. We found that cumulative exposure to violence predicted an attenuated cortisol response. Further, we tested whether sex, mothers' support, or fathers' support moderated the effect of exposure to violence on cortisol responses. We found that the effect of cumulative exposure to violence on cortisol was modified by sex; specifically, males exposed to violence exhibited a more attenuated response pattern. In addition, the effect of cumulative exposure to violence on cortisol was moderated by the presence of fathers' support during adolescence. The findings contribute to a better understanding of how cumulative exposure to violence influences biological outcomes, emphasizing the need to understand sex and parental support as moderators of risk.
• Subjects:
  Adolescence Adolescent Article Biological Markers Contextual Stressors Cortisol Female Humans Hydrocortisone Longitudinal Studies Male Models, Psychological Models, Statistical Parent-Child Relations Psychology, Adolescent Self Report Sex Factors Stress, Psychological Stress Response Violence Violence Exposure Young Adult

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• Source:
  J Youth Adolesc. 2014; 43(7):1066-1079.
• Pubmed ID:
  24458765
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC4057303
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  1R49CE002099/CE/NCIPC CDC HHS/United States ; 5U01CE001957-02/CE/NCIPC CDC HHS/United States ; DA007484/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/United States ; R01 DA007484/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/United States
• Volume:
  43
• Issue:
  7
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:006fb34a377fc04beaf88d0ec552402177f4a4d6ff831f4a8ad30d2d7e79a31d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/29998/cdc_29998_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 338.63 KB ]