title: Lower cortisol level in response to a psychosocial stressor in young females with self-harm.
abstract: Self-harm is highly prevalent in adolescence, often serving an emotion regulation function. Social stressors such as bullying are associated with self-harm. The neurobiological background of the relationship between social stressors and self-harm needs to be further understood to inform prevention and therapy.
  
  
  
  Participants were members of an epidemiological cohort study. 130 female participants underwent the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) at age 19. Of them, 21 reported a history of self-harm as assessed by the Youth Self Report. Psychiatric diagnoses were recorded.
  
  
  
  Participants with a history of self-harm showed significantly lower blood cortisol levels throughout the TSST. Early psychosocial adversity did not significantly differ between groups with and without self-harm, with self-harming participants reporting more childhood adversities.
  
  
  
  These results add to the limited field of studies showing an altered HPA axis activity in females with self-harm. Future studies need to address the causal mechanisms behind this association.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Germany. Electronic address: Paul.plener@zi-mannheim.de.
authors.forename: Paul L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Plener
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Germany.
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zohsel
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Germany.
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hohm
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Germany.
authors.forename: Arlette F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Buchmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Germany.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Banaschewski
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulrich S
authors.initials: US
authors.lastname: Zimmermann
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Germany; Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Laucht
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood*; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000097:blood*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: Cortisol; Nonsuicidal self-injury; Self-harm; TSST; Trier Social Stress Test