title: Biological sensitivity to context: Cortisol awakening response moderates the effects of neighbourhood density on the development of adolescent externalizing problem behaviours.
abstract: This four-year longitudinal study attempted to test person-environment interaction theory and biological sensitivity theory by assessing whether individuals' biological stress activity CARAUCg(Cortisol Awakening Response Area Under the Curve with respect to ground) moderates the effects of neighbourhood density on the development of adolescent externalizing problem behaviours. Participants were 358 Dutch adolescents with a mean age of 15 years at the first measurement. Our analyses showed that CARAUCgmoderated the effects of neighbourhood density on the level of parent-reported delinquency and aggression and adolescent self-reported delinquency. More specifically, for adolescents with high CARAUCg, higher neighbourhood density significantly predicted higher levels of parent-reported and adolescent self-reported delinquency and aggression, whereas the association was reversed or non-significant for adolescents with low CARAUCg. Our findings suggest that adolescents with different levels of CARAUCgrespond differentially to the density of the neighbourhood they live in, supporting for person-environment interaction perspectives and biological sensitivity theory.
authors.affiliation: Department of Youth and Family, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: Rongqin.yu@psych.ox.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Rongqin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department OTB - Research for the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands; Department of Human Geography and Planning, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jaap
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nieuwenhuis
authors.affiliation: Department of Youth and Family, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands; Department of Developmental Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Wim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Meeus
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Geography and Planning, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Pieter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hooimeijer
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Developmental Psychology and EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Hans M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Koot
authors.affiliation: Department of Youth and Family, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Branje
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology; D000374:Aggression / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D003441:Crowding / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000523:psychology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D000066553:Problem Behavior; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: Biological sensitivity; Cortisol awakening response (CAR); Externalizing behaviours; Neighbourhood density