title: Endocrine and emotional response to exclusion among women and men; cortisol, salivary alpha amylase, and mood.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Social exclusion is ubiquitous and painful. Evolutionary models indicate sex differences in coping with social stress. Recent empirical data suggest different sex patterns in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (SAM) reactivity. The present study sought to test this hypothesis.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined differences in endocrine and emotional response to exclusion by using a virtual ball tossing paradigm (Cyberball). Saliva samples and mood ratings were collected to reflect levels before, and repeatedly following, exclusion.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample included 21 women and 23 men. Cortisol and salivary alpha amylase (sAA), biomarkers of the HPA and SAM systems, respectively, were used as indices of two arms of stress response.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Following exclusion, all participants experienced mood worsening followed by mood improvement, with men reporting less distress than women. Women evinced decline in cortisol following the Cyberball task, whereas men's cortisol levels showed a non-significant rise, and then decline, following exclusion.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results concur with previous findings showing SAM reactivity to be gender-neutral and HPA reactivity to be gender-divergent. Additional studies are needed to examine sex-specific response to social exclusion. Implications for individual differences in recovery from stress are discussed.
authors.affiliation: a Columbia University Psychiatry , New York , NY , USA.|b New York State Psychiatric Institute , New York , NY , USA.
authors.forename: Liat
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Helpman
authors.affiliation: c Bar Ilan University , Ramat Gan , Israel.|d Sami Shamoon College of Engineering , Ashdod , Israel.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Penso
authors.affiliation: c Bar Ilan University , Ramat Gan , Israel.
authors.forename: Orna
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Zagoory-Sharon
authors.affiliation: c Bar Ilan University , Ramat Gan , Israel.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Feldman
authors.affiliation: c Bar Ilan University , Ramat Gan , Israel.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gilboa-Schechtman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D004644:Emotions; D004703:Endocrine System / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D055291:Salivary alpha-Amylases / Q000378:metabolism*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012919:Social Behavior; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D055291:Salivary alpha-Amylases; D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: Sex-selection; gender; hormones; sex; stress