title: The effects of trait and state affect on diurnal cortisol slope among children affected by parental HIV/AIDS in rural China.
abstract: Affect is believed to be one of the most prominent proximal psychological pathway through which more distal psychosocial factors influence physiology and ultimately health. The current study examines the relative contributions of trait affect and state affect to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity, with particular focus on cortisol slope, in children affected by parental HIV/AIDS. A sample of 645 children (8-15 years old) affected by parental HIV/AIDS in rural China completed a multiple-day naturalistic salivary cortisol protocol. Trait and state affect, demographics, and psychosocial covariates were assessed via self-report. Hierarchical linear modeling was used for estimating the effects of trait affect and state affect on cortisol slope. Confidence intervals for indirect effects were estimated using the Monte Carlo method. Our results indicated that both trait and state negative affect (NA) predicted flatter (less "healthy") diurnal cortisol slopes. Subsequent analyses revealed that children's state NA mediated the effect of their trait NA on diurnal cortisol slope. The same relationships did not emerge for trait and state positive affect. These findings provide a rationale for future interventions that target NA as a modifiable antecedent of compromised health-related endocrine processes among children affected by parental HIV/AIDS.
authors.affiliation: a Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University , Beijing , People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lihua
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: b Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences , University of Macau , Macau SAR, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Peilian
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chi
authors.affiliation: c Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior , University of South Carolina , Columbia , SC , USA.
authors.forename: Xiaoming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: d Department of Psychology , Wayne State University , Detroit , MI , USA.|e Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Science , Wayne State University , Detroit , MI , USA.
authors.forename: Samuele
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zilioli
authors.affiliation: f Department of Psychology , Institute of Behavior and Psychology, Henan University , Kaifeng , People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Junfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: f Department of Psychology , Institute of Behavior and Psychology, Henan University , Kaifeng , People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Guoxiang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: a Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University , Beijing , People's Republic of China.|g School of Psychology, Beijing Normal University , Beijing , People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Danhua
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000523:psychology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D002681:China; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D003141:Communicable Diseases; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: Trait affect; children affected by parental HIV/AIDS; cortisol slope; mediation analysis; state affect