title: Increased cortisol awakening response and afternoon/evening cortisol output in healthy young adults with low early life parental care.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Growing evidence from animal and human studies suggests a profound and long-lasting influence of early life experiences--ranging from variations in parenting behavior to severe adversity--on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the current investigation was to examine the association between naturally occurring variations in early life parental care and the cortisol awakening response (CAR), afternoon/evening cortisol output and key psychological variables in a sample of healthy young adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-eight (19 male and 39 female) participants between 18 and 30 years of age completed psychological questionnaires and collected saliva at awakening, 30 min thereafter and at 3 p.m., 6 p.m., and 9 p.m. on three non-consecutive weekdays.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants with low (compared to high) parental care experiences exhibited an increased CAR, increased afternoon/evening cortisol output, decreased self-esteem, and increased depressive symptomatology and anxiety.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We suggest that the elevated CAR and afternoon/evening cortisol levels might reflect a biological correlate of adversity-induced vulnerability for psychopathology. This study is first to show an association between the retrospective perception of early life parental care and cortisol circadian rhythms in healthy young adults.
authors.affiliation: Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. veronika.engert@mail.mcgill.ca
authors.forename: Veronika
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Engert
authors.forename: Simona I
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Efanov
authors.forename: Katarina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dedovic
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dagher
authors.forename: Jens C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Pruessner
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012649:Self Concept; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014851:Wakefulness; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone