Total cortisol output during an acute stressor predicts youths' internalizing symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic

Andrew R Daoust; Haley Green; Matthew R J Vandermeer; Pan Liu; Kasey Stanton; Kate L Harkness; Elizabeth P Hayden

doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108714

Total cortisol output during an acute stressor predicts youths' internalizing symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic

Biol Psychol. 2023 Nov:184:108714. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108714. Epub 2023 Oct 14.

Authors

Andrew R Daoust¹, Haley Green², Matthew R J Vandermeer³, Pan Liu⁴, Kasey Stanton⁵, Kate L Harkness⁶, Elizabeth P Hayden²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: adaoust3@uwo.ca.
² Department of Psychology, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
³ Anxiety Treatment & Research Centre, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
⁴ Department of Psychology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA.
⁶ Department of Psychology, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

PMID: 37839519
DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108714

Abstract

Individual differences in cortisol output may influence adolescents' adjustment to the COVID-19 pandemic; however, boys and girls may differ in terms of associations between cortisol output and internalizing symptoms in the context of COVID-19-related stress. We examined whether pre-pandemic cortisol output during an acute stressor, assessed approximately three years prior to the pandemic, predicted change in adolescents' internalizing symptoms early during the COVID-19 pandemic. Consistent with previous work on other life stressors, girls' cortisol output was positively associated with anxious and somatic symptoms early in the pandemic. Conversely, cortisol output and depressive symptoms were negatively associated for boys; boys with higher cortisol had depressive symptoms which significantly decreased over time. Findings suggest that hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis stress functioning plays a role in shaping differences between adolescent boys' and girls' adjustment during the experience of a ubiquitous chronic stressor.

Keywords: Adolescents; COVID-19; Cortisol; Internalizing symptoms; Sex differences.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
COVID-19*
Female
Humans
Hydrocortisone*
Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System
Male
Pandemics
Pituitary-Adrenal System
Saliva
Stress, Psychological

Substances

Hydrocortisone