title: Asymmetry in children's salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase in the context of marital conflict: links to children's emotional security and adjustment.
abstract: Recent research supports the promise of examining interactive models of physiological processes on children's adjustment. The present study investigates interactions between children's autonomic nervous system activity and adrenocortical functioning in the context of marital discord; specifically, testing models of concurrent responses proposed by Bauer et al. ([2002] Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics 23:102-113) in the prediction of children's behavioral responses to conflict and adjustment. Asymmetry and symmetry in children's salivary alpha-amylase and cortisol were examined in 195 children (M age = 8 years) in response to viewing conflict vignettes. Results were partially consistent with an interactive model in the context of high marital discord; asymmetry among higher alpha-amylase and lower cortisol related to higher emotional insecurity and concurrent and subsequent maladjustment. In contrast, patterns of symmetrical responses were related to greater maladjustment for children exposed to lower levels of marital discord, supporting an additive model. Findings support the importance of a multisystem approach to investigating the adaptiveness of children's physiological stress responses, while also highlighting the value of considering physiological responses in the context of family risk.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455. kossx022@umn.edu.
authors.forename: Kalsea J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Koss
authors.forename: Melissa R W
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: George
authors.forename: E Mark
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Cummings
authors.forename: Patrick T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Davies
authors.forename: Mona
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: El-Sheikh
authors.forename: Dante
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cicchetti
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000339:Affect; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D054541:Family Conflict; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000032:analysis*; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D055291:Salivary alpha-Amylases / Q000032:analysis*; D012917:Social Adjustment
chemical_list: D055291:Salivary alpha-Amylases; D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: cortisol; emotional security; internalizing and externalizing problems; marital conflict; salivary alpha-amylase
references.citation: Psychol Bull. 1994 Nov;116(3):387-411
references.pmid: 7809306
references.citation: Horm Behav. 2008 Jan;53(1):96-103
references.pmid: 17945232
references.citation: Biol Psychol. 2011 Sep;88(1):57-64
references.pmid: 21771636
references.citation: J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2008 May;36(4):601-11
references.pmid: 18197472
references.citation: Dev Psychopathol. 2011 Aug;23(3):815-29
references.pmid: 21756434
references.citation: J Exp Child Psychol. 2011 Jul;109(3):336-52
references.pmid: 21397249
references.citation: Dev Psychopathol. 2011 Nov;23(4):1149-65
references.pmid: 22018087
references.citation: Dev Psychopathol. 2010 Winter;22(1):165-75
references.pmid: 20102654
references.citation: Child Dev. 2001 Jul-Aug;72(4):1112-34
references.pmid: 11480937
references.citation: Child Dev. 2010 Jul-Aug;81(4):1228-40
references.pmid: 20636692
references.citation: Child Dev. 2002 Mar-Apr;73(2):544-62
references.pmid: 11949908
references.citation: Child Dev. 2012 Sep-Oct;83(5):1703-15
references.pmid: 22694264
references.citation: Physiol Behav. 2007 Nov 23;92(4):583-90
references.pmid: 17572453
references.citation: J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2002 Apr;23(2):102-13
references.pmid: 11943973
references.citation: Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2007 Mar;1098:122-44
references.pmid: 17332070
references.citation: Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2011 Jun;35(7):1562-92
references.pmid: 21145350
references.citation: J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2005 Nov;46(11):1191-9
references.pmid: 16238666
references.citation: Monogr Soc Res Child Dev. 2009;74(1):vii, 1-79
references.pmid: 19302676
references.citation: Dev Psychol. 2007 Jul;43(4):918-30
references.pmid: 17605525
references.citation: Horm Behav. 2009 Jun;56(1):133-9
references.pmid: 19348808
references.citation: Child Dev. 2008 Nov-Dec;79(6):1693-706
references.pmid: 19037943
references.citation: J Abnorm Child Psychol. 1980 Sep;8(3):287-95
references.pmid: 7410730
references.citation: Dev Psychopathol. 1994 Winter;6(1):57-75
references.pmid: 23305942
references.citation: Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2009 Jun;34(5):633-43
references.pmid: 19195789
references.citation: Dev Psychopathol. 2011 May;23(2):703-21
references.pmid: 23786705
references.citation: Dev Psychobiol. 2008 Dec;50(8):807-18
references.pmid: 18688807
references.citation: Psychol Bull. 2004 May;130(3):355-91
references.pmid: 15122924
references.citation: Psychol Sci. 2010 Jan;21(1):31-7
references.pmid: 20424019
references.citation: J Appl Psychol. 2006 Jul;91(4):917-26
references.pmid: 16834514
references.citation: Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2006 Sep;31(8):976-87
references.pmid: 16879926
references.citation: Child Abuse Negl. 2010 Oct;34(10):752-61
references.pmid: 20850183
references.citation: Dev Psychobiol. 2008 Nov;50(7):690-703
references.pmid: 18726897
references.citation: Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2011 May;36(4):449-53
references.pmid: 21295411
references.citation: Child Dev. 2006 Jan-Feb;77(1):132-52
references.pmid: 16460530
references.citation: Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2009 Aug;34(7):953-67
references.pmid: 19321267