Neighborhood disadvantage and adolescent stress reactivity
Lower socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with higher levels of life stress, which in turn affect stress physiology. SES is related to basal cortisol and diurnal change, but it is not clear if SES is associated with cortisol reactivity to stress. To address this question, we examined the rela...
Main Authors: | , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2012-10-01
|
Series: | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2012.00277/full |
id |
doaj-179f3775044f4d75922f457fec12c6cb |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-179f3775044f4d75922f457fec12c6cb2020-11-25T02:04:49ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612012-10-01610.3389/fnhum.2012.0027730950Neighborhood disadvantage and adolescent stress reactivityDaniel A. Hackman0Laura M. Betancourt1Nancy L. Brodsky2Hallam eHurt3Martha J Farah4University of PennsylvaniaThe Children’s Hospital of PhiladelphiaThe Children’s Hospital of PhiladelphiaThe Children’s Hospital of PhiladelphiaUniversity of PennsylvaniaLower socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with higher levels of life stress, which in turn affect stress physiology. SES is related to basal cortisol and diurnal change, but it is not clear if SES is associated with cortisol reactivity to stress. To address this question, we examined the relationship between two indices of SES, parental education and concentrated neighborhood disadvantage, and the cortisol reactivity of African-American adolescents to a modified version of the Trier Social Stress Test. We found that concentrated disadvantage was associated with cortisol reactivity and this relationship was moderated by gender, such that higher concentrated disadvantage predicted higher cortisol reactivity and steeper recovery in boys but not in girls. Parental education, alone or as moderated by gender, did not predict reactivity or recovery, while neither education nor concentrated disadvantage predicted estimates of baseline cortisol. This finding is consistent with animal literature showing differential vulnerability, by gender, to the effects of adverse early experience on stress regulation and the differential effects of neighborhood disadvantage in adolescent males and females. This suggests that the mechanisms underlying SES differences in brain development and particularly reactivity to environmental stressors may vary across genders.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2012.00277/fullcortisolHPA axisSocioeconomic statusNeighborhood disadvantageParental educationstress reactivity |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Daniel A. Hackman Laura M. Betancourt Nancy L. Brodsky Hallam eHurt Martha J Farah |
spellingShingle |
Daniel A. Hackman Laura M. Betancourt Nancy L. Brodsky Hallam eHurt Martha J Farah Neighborhood disadvantage and adolescent stress reactivity Frontiers in Human Neuroscience cortisol HPA axis Socioeconomic status Neighborhood disadvantage Parental education stress reactivity |
author_facet |
Daniel A. Hackman Laura M. Betancourt Nancy L. Brodsky Hallam eHurt Martha J Farah |
author_sort |
Daniel A. Hackman |
title |
Neighborhood disadvantage and adolescent stress reactivity |
title_short |
Neighborhood disadvantage and adolescent stress reactivity |
title_full |
Neighborhood disadvantage and adolescent stress reactivity |
title_fullStr |
Neighborhood disadvantage and adolescent stress reactivity |
title_full_unstemmed |
Neighborhood disadvantage and adolescent stress reactivity |
title_sort |
neighborhood disadvantage and adolescent stress reactivity |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
issn |
1662-5161 |
publishDate |
2012-10-01 |
description |
Lower socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with higher levels of life stress, which in turn affect stress physiology. SES is related to basal cortisol and diurnal change, but it is not clear if SES is associated with cortisol reactivity to stress. To address this question, we examined the relationship between two indices of SES, parental education and concentrated neighborhood disadvantage, and the cortisol reactivity of African-American adolescents to a modified version of the Trier Social Stress Test. We found that concentrated disadvantage was associated with cortisol reactivity and this relationship was moderated by gender, such that higher concentrated disadvantage predicted higher cortisol reactivity and steeper recovery in boys but not in girls. Parental education, alone or as moderated by gender, did not predict reactivity or recovery, while neither education nor concentrated disadvantage predicted estimates of baseline cortisol. This finding is consistent with animal literature showing differential vulnerability, by gender, to the effects of adverse early experience on stress regulation and the differential effects of neighborhood disadvantage in adolescent males and females. This suggests that the mechanisms underlying SES differences in brain development and particularly reactivity to environmental stressors may vary across genders. |
topic |
cortisol HPA axis Socioeconomic status Neighborhood disadvantage Parental education stress reactivity |
url |
http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2012.00277/full |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT danielahackman neighborhooddisadvantageandadolescentstressreactivity AT laurambetancourt neighborhooddisadvantageandadolescentstressreactivity AT nancylbrodsky neighborhooddisadvantageandadolescentstressreactivity AT hallamehurt neighborhooddisadvantageandadolescentstressreactivity AT marthajfarah neighborhooddisadvantageandadolescentstressreactivity |
_version_ |
1724940848945168384 |