title: Subjective, autonomic, and endocrine reactivity during social stress in children with social phobia.
abstract: Reports of exaggerated anxiety and physiological hyperreactivity to social-evaluative situations are characteristic of childhood social phobia (SP). However, laboratory research on subjective, autonomic and endocrine functioning in childhood SP is scarce, inconsistent and limited by small sample sizes, limited breadth of measurements, and the use of non-standardized stressor tasks. We exposed 8-12-year-old children with DSM-IV SP (n = 41) and matched healthy control children (HC; n = 40) to the Trier Social Stress Test for Children (TSST-C) while measuring subjective anxiety, heart rate (HR) and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) as well as salivary cortisol. The SP children showed heightened reactivity to the TSST-C on subjective anxiety compared to the HC children but not a heightened reactivity in HR, sAA or cortisol. However, the SP children showed chronically elevated HR levels throughout the whole laboratory session. Whereas subjective anxiety seems to respond specifically to social-evaluative stress in childhood SP, HR levels may be chronically elevated suggesting a more generalized autonomic hyperreactivity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Freiburg, Engelbergerstrasse 41, 79106 Freiburg, Germany. martina.kraemer@psychologie.uni-freiburg.de
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krämer
authors.forename: Wiebke Lina
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Seefeldt
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Heinrichs
authors.forename: Brunna
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tuschen-Caffier
authors.forename: Julian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schmitz
authors.forename: Oliver Tobias
authors.initials: OT
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blechert
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D004703:Endocrine System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D011594:Psychometrics; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D055291:Salivary alpha-Amylases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D055291:Salivary alpha-Amylases; D006854:Hydrocortisone