title: Daily stress and cortisol patterns in parents of adult children with a serious mental illness.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The goal of the current study was to examine whether parenting an adult child with a serious mental illness (SMI) has a physiological impact on parents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Multiple samples of saliva were collected on 4 days from 61 parents (mean age = 60.07 years, SD = 10.01) of individuals with a SMI (bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and major depression; mean age = 32.46 years, SD = 10.57) and a comparison group of 321 parents (mean age = 58.09 years, SD = 12.88) of individuals without a SMI (mean age = 32.36; SD = 13.87). Saliva samples were assayed for the hormone cortisol and group differences in diurnal cortisol patterns and their association with daily stress severity were explored.
  
  
  RESULTS
  On days after elevated stress, a hypoactivation pattern of diurnal cortisol suggestive of chronic stress was evident for parents of individuals with a SMI. After more stressful days, cortisol levels increased less from waking to 30 min after waking and declined less from 30 min after waking to bedtime for parents of individuals with a SMI.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of the current study add to a growing body of evidence that the long-term effects of parenting an adult with a disability has a biological impact on aging parents and support the need for family interventions across adulthood and into old age for parents of individuals with SMI.
authors: Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, USA. Erin.Barker@Concordia.ca
authors: Erin T
authors: ET
authors: Barker
authors: Jan S
authors: JS
authors: Greenberg
authors: Marsha Mailick
authors: MM
authors: Seltzer
authors: David M
authors: DM
authors: Almeida
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D032721:Adult Children / Q000523:psychology*; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology; D001714:Bipolar Disorder; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000451:nursing*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone