title: Relationships Among Perceived Stress, Bullying, Cortisol, and Depressive Symptoms in Ninth-Grade Adolescents: A Pilot Study.
abstract: Adolescence is considered a critical period for risk of depressive symptoms, with prevalence ranging from 13% to 34%. Few studies have examined the relationships among perceived stress, bullying, and depressive symptoms accompanied by a biological marker of stress (cortisol). The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the feasibility of collecting biological specimens in a high school setting, including a morning and afternoon sample of salivary cortisol as well as computer-based survey data in order to examine the relationships among these variables in ninth-grade adolescents. A convenience sample of 31 ninth-grade students from a Southern suburban high school participated in this cross-sectional, correlational study. Perceived stress contributed the most toward the variance in depressive symptoms ( F = 29.379, df = 1, p < .001, partial eta square [[Formula: see text]] = 0.583). Females ( n = 15) had higher depressive symptoms scores than males, n = 16; t(29) = -2.94, df = 29, p = .023. Bullying scores were low and not significantly correlated with depressive symptoms, but participants reported more verbal/relational bullying as compared to physical, cultural, or cyberbullying. Cortisol slopes were normal (a negative change) for 20 participants (64.5%), while 4 (12.9%) had a blunted cortisol slope (less than .01 μg/dl change from morning to afternoon) and 7 (22.36%) had an opposite cortisol slope (morning low and afternoon high). Data collection procedures (salivary cortisol and computer-based surveys) were feasible in a school setting. High rates of perceived stress and depressive symptoms warrant a larger study in the future.
authors.affiliation: 1 University of South Alabama College of Nursing, Fairhope, AL, USA.
authors.forename: Susan G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: 2 College of Nursing, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Turner-Henson
authors.affiliation: 2 College of Nursing, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.|3 Division of Nursing, Spring Hill College, Mobile, AL, USA.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: 4 Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Heather C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Soistmann
keywords: adolescents; biobehavioral; bullying; cortisol; depressive symptoms; perceived stress