Diurnal Cortisol in a Sample of Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Chinese Children: Evidence for the Shift-and-Persist Hypothesis

This study explored whether the psychological strategy of “shift-and-persist” protects low-SES children from stress-related physiological risks, as measured through blunted (unhealthy) diurnal cortisol profiles. Methods A sample of 645 children (aged 8–15 years) from low-SES backgrounds and having at least one HIV-positive parent completed a battery of psychological scales. Diurnal cortisol assessments included collection of saliva samples four times a day for 3 days, from which three cortisol parameters (cortisol at awakening, cortisol awakening response, and cortisol slope) were derived. Results Higher levels of shift-and-persist, considered as a single variable, were associated with higher cortisol at awakening (B = 0.0119, SE = 0.0034, p
Source: Psychosomatic Medicine - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLES Source Type: research