Reactivity and regulation in cortisol and behavioral responses to stress.
This study examined relations between reactivity (i.e., peak response) and regulation (i.e., response dampening) in 6-month-old infants' cortisol and behavioral responses to inoculation (N = 62). Data showed that reactivity and regulation were unrelated for both cortisol and behavior. The independence of reactivity and regulation suggests that measures of both are needed to characterize infant cortisol or behavioral response to stress more completely. For both reactivity and regulation, cortisol and behavior were unrelated, suggesting that measures of both are needed to assess infant stress more adequately. There was considerable variation in the timing of the peak cortisol response, suggesting that obtaining only a single poststressor cortisol sample does not provide a sensitive measure of cortisol reactivity.
Ramsay
Douglas
D
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Brunswick, 08903-0019, USA. ramsaydo@umdnj.edu
Lewis
Michael
M
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood*; D007223:Infant; D018730:Infant Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000097:blood* / Q000209:etiology*; D014611:Vaccination / Q000523:psychology*
D006854:Hydrocortisone