title: The father-daughter dance: the relationship between father-daughter relationship quality and daughters' stress response.
abstract: The goal of the study was to determine whether father-daughter relationship quality is related to activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis (salivary cortisol) and autonomic nervous system (salivary alpha-amylase, sAA) in late adolescence-emerging adulthood during peer interactions. In the 1st study, reported father-daughter relationships characterized by rejection, chaos, and coercion had lower morning cortisol levels and were temperamentally more sensitive to emotional changes. In the 2nd study, young women who reported father-daughter relationships characterized by warmth, autonomy, support, and structure had lower pretask cortisol levels, and they had attenuated cortisol responses to problem discussion with a friend. In contrast, those who reported father-daughter relationships characterized by rejection, chaos, and coercion had higher pretask cortisol levels, had elevated cortisol in response to problem discussion with a friend, and were more likely to self-disclose about psychosocial stressors. No differences were observed between reported father-daughter relationship quality and sAA levels or task-related reactivity. The findings suggest that father-daughter interactions potentially influence both social cognition and HPA reactivity to developmentally salient stressors in young women.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA. jennifer.byrd.craven@okstate.edu
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Byrd-Craven
authors.forename: Brandon J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Auer
authors.forename: Douglas A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Granger
authors.forename: Amber R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Massey
mesh_terms: D005219:Father-Child Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D010379:Peer Group; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry / Q000201:enzymology; D055291:Salivary alpha-Amylases / Q000032:analysis; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D055291:Salivary alpha-Amylases; D006854:Hydrocortisone