Biological stress regulation in female adolescents: a key role for confiding

Oskis, Andrea ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0194-2679, Clow, Angela, Loveday, Catherine, Hucklebridge, Frank and Sbarra, David A. (2015) Biological stress regulation in female adolescents: a key role for confiding. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44 (5) . pp. 1066-1077. ISSN 0047-2891 [Article] (doi:10.1007/s10964-014-0182-z)

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Abstract

Attachment behaviors play a critical role in regulating emotion within the context of close relationships, and attachment theory is currently used to inform evidence-based practice in the areas of adolescent health and social care. This study investigated the association between female adolescents’ interview-based attachment behaviors and two markers of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis activity: cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). Unlike the classic stress hormone cortisol, there is very limited investigation of DHEA—a quintessential developmental hormone—in relation to attachment, especially in adolescents. Fifty-five healthy females mean age 14.36 (±2.41) years participated in the attachment style interview. A smaller cortisol awakening response was related to anxious attachment attitudes, including more fear of rejection, whereas greater morning basal DHEA secretion was only predicted by lower levels of reported confiding in one’s mother. These attachment–hormone relationships may be developmental markers in females, as they were independent of menarche status. These findings highlight that the normative shifts occurring in attachment to caregivers around adolescence are reflected in adolescents’ biological stress regulation. We discuss how studying these shifts can be informed by evolutionary– developmental theory.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: First online: 09 September 2014
Keywords (uncontrolled): Adolescence, Attachment, CAR, Cortisol Awakening Response, DHEA, HPA Axis
Research Areas: A. > School of Science and Technology > Psychology
Item ID: 19598
Notes on copyright: The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10964-014-0182-z
Useful Links:
Depositing User: Andrea Oskis
Date Deposited: 27 Apr 2016 11:59
Last Modified: 29 Nov 2022 22:51
URI: https://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/id/eprint/19598

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