title: Salivary Cortisol Levels and Depressive Symptomatology in Consumers and Nonconsumers of Self-Help Books: A Pilot Study.
abstract: The self-help industry generates billions of dollars yearly in North America. Despite the popularity of this movement, there has been surprisingly little research assessing the characteristics of self-help books consumers, and whether this consumption is associated with physiological and/or psychological markers of stress. The goal of this pilot study was to perform the first psychoneuroendocrine analysis of consumers of self-help books in comparison to nonconsumers. We tested diurnal and reactive salivary cortisol levels, personality, and depressive symptoms in 32 consumers and nonconsumers of self-help books. In an explorative secondary analysis, we also split consumers of self-help books as a function of their preference for problem-focused versus growth-oriented self-help books. The results showed that while consumers of growth-oriented self-help books presented increased cortisol reactivity to a psychosocial stressor compared to other groups, consumers of problem-focused self-help books presented higher depressive symptomatology. The results of this pilot study show that consumers with preference for either problem-focused or growth-oriented self-help books present different physiological and psychological markers of stress when compared to nonconsumers of self-help books. This preliminary study underlines the need for additional research on this issue in order to determine the impact the self-help book industry may have on consumers' stress.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Studies on Human Stress, Research Centre, Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montreal, Canada H1N 3M5; Department of Neuroscience, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada H3C 3J7.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Raymond
authors.affiliation: Centre for Studies on Human Stress, Research Centre, Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montreal, Canada H1N 3M5; Department of Neuroscience, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada H3C 3J7.
authors.forename: Marie-France
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Marin
authors.affiliation: Centre for Studies on Human Stress, Research Centre, Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montreal, Canada H1N 3M5.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hand
authors.affiliation: Centre for Studies on Human Stress, Research Centre, Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montreal, Canada H1N 3M5; Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, Canada H3A 3R1.
authors.forename: Shireen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sindi
authors.affiliation: Centre for Studies on Human Stress, Research Centre, Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montreal, Canada H1N 3M5; Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, Canada H3A 3R1.
authors.forename: Robert-Paul
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Juster
authors.affiliation: Centre for Studies on Human Stress, Research Centre, Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montreal, Canada H1N 3M5; Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada H3T 1J4.
authors.forename: Sonia J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lupien
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001877:Books; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000032:analysis*; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D012648:Self Care; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone
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