title: Can reactivity to stress and family environment explain memory and executive function performance in early and middle childhood?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  According to the literature, children's overall reactivity to stress is associated with their socioeconomic status and family environment. In turn, it has been shown that reactivity to stress is associated with cognitive performance. However, few studies have systematically tested these three constructs together.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relationship between family environment, salivary cortisol measurements and children's memory and executive function performance.
  
  
  METHODS
  Salivary cortisol levels of 70 children aged 9 or 10 years were measured before and after performing tasks designed to assess memory and executive functions. Questionnaires on socioeconomic issues, family environment and maternal psychopathologies were administered to participants' families during the children's early childhood and again when they reached school age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data were analyzed by calculating correlations between variables and conducting hierarchical regression. High cortisol levels were associated with poorer working memory and worse performance in tasks involving executive functions, and were also associated with high scores for maternal psychopathology (during early childhood and school age) and family dysfunction. Family environment variables and changes in cortisol levels explain around 20% of the variance in performance of cognitive tasks.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Family functioning and maternal psychopathology in early and middle childhood and children's stress levels were associated with children's working memory and executive functioning.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psicologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luciane da Rosa
authors.initials: Lda R
authors.lastname: Piccolo
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psicologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jerusa Fumagalli de
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Salles
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psiquiatria e Medicina Legal, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Olga Garcia
authors.initials: OG
authors.lastname: Falceto
authors.affiliation: Grupo Hospitalar Conceição (GHC), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carmen Luiza
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psicologia, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rodrigo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grassi-Oliveira
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D004777:Environment; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology; D011581:Psychological Tests; D002666:Psychology, Child; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D012923:Social Class; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone