Maternal attachment security modulates the relationship between vulnerability to anxiety and attentional bias to threat in healthy children.

This study aimed to investigate whether attentional bias to threat, commonly observed in clinically anxious children, also manifests in healthy children, potentially aiding the early detection of at-risk individuals. Additionally, it sought to explore the moderating role of parent-child attachment security on the association between vulnerability factors (anxiety sensitivity, intolerance of uncertainty, perseverative cognitions) as indicators of vulnerability to anxiety, and attentional bias towards threat in healthy children. A total of 95 children aged 8 to 12 years completed the Visual Search Task to assess attentional bias. Vulnerability to anxiety was measured using a composite score derived from the Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index, Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale for Children, and Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire. Parent-child attachment security was assessed using the Security Scale-Child Self-Report. Analyses revealed that higher vulnerability to anxiety was associated with faster detection of anger-related stimuli compared to neutral ones, and this association was further influenced by high maternal security. These findings in healthy children suggest an interaction between specific factors related to anxiety vulnerability and the security of the mother-child relationship, leading to cognitive patterns resembling those seen in clinically anxious individuals. These results hold promise for early identification of children at risk of developing anxiety disorders.

It's all in the hair: Association between changes in hair cortisol concentrations in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic and post-traumatic stress symptoms in children over time.

After exposure to a stressful/traumatic event, some individuals will develop post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). In adults, low cortisol levels appear to be a risk factor for the development of PTSS. Indeed, both lower pre-trauma cortisol levels and low cortisol levels in the aftermath of a traumatic event have been associated with greater PTSS. In contrast, studies conducted in children showed that elevated cortisol levels shortly after trauma exposure are associated with more severe post-traumatic stress symptomatology. The few studies that have examined how pre-trauma cortisol levels predict PTSS in children have found no effect. Given that a pandemic can induce PTSS in certain individuals, we investigated whether cortisol secretion prior to and in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec (Canada) predicted PTSS in children. In June 2020, we collected a hair sample from 71 children (8-15 y/o, M = 11.65; 54.93% girls) without a history of psychopathology or exposure to previous traumatic events. Hair samples allowed us to derive cumulative measures of cortisol levels for the months prior to (from mid-December 2019 to mid-March 2020) and at the beginning of the pandemic (from mid-March 2020 to mid-June 2020). PTSS were assessed every 3 months between June 2020 (T1) and March 2021 (T4). The results showed that a greater increase in hair cortisol at the beginning of the pandemic predicted less PTSS at T1, with an increase in these symptoms over time. This study highlights the utility of using hair cortisol during future chronic stressful events to better understand its association with the evolution of distress.

Vulnerability to anxiety differently predicts cortisol reactivity and state anxiety during a laboratory stressor in healthy girls and boys.

BACKGROUND: Children diagnosed with anxiety disorders show altered cortisol and state anxiety reactivity to stressful situations. To date, it remains unclear whether these dysregulations emerge after the pathology or whether they are also detectable in healthy children. If the latter is true, this may provide insight into children's vulnerability to develop clinical anxiety. Various personality factors (anxiety sensitivity, intolerance of uncertainty, perseverative cognitions) increase youth's vulnerability to develop anxiety disorders. This study aimed to examine whether vulnerability to anxiety was associated with cortisol reactivity and state anxiety in healthy youth. METHODS: 114 children (8-12 y/o) were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test for Children (TSST-C), where saliva samples were collected for cortisol quantification. State anxiety was assessed 20 min before and 10 min after the TSST-C using the state form of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children. Vulnerability to anxiety was assessed using a composite score of the Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index, Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale for Children, and Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire. RESULTS: Higher vulnerability to anxiety was associated with enhanced cortisol reactivity in boys. Irrespective of vulnerability level, girls reported greater changes in state anxiety in response to the TSST. LIMITATIONS: Given the correlational nature of this study, the directionality of the results remains to be elucidated. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that endocrine patterns characterizing anxiety disorders are detectable in healthy boys who exhibit a high level of self-reported vulnerability to anxiety. These results could aid in the early identification of children at risk of developing anxiety disorders.

Pre-pandemic socio-emotional vulnerability, internalizing and externalizing symptoms predict changes in hair cortisol concentrations in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic in children.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to increased distress in many children, particularly in girls. Socio-emotional vulnerability, as well as psychiatric symptomatology prior to or during the initial stages of the pandemic, have been identified as important predictors of this distress. Still, it is unclear whether the pandemic also had physiological repercussions in children. If so, it remains to be determined whether these same predictors could provide insight into inter-individual variability. This longitudinal study aimed to investigate the effects of socio-emotional vulnerability, as well as pre-pandemic internalizing and externalizing symptoms, on hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in healthy youth. In June 2020 (T1), 69 healthy children (M = 11.57 y/o) who visited the laboratory between 2017 and 2019 (T0) provided a 6 cm hair sample. This technique allowed us to quantify cortisol secretion during the three months preceding the COVID-19 pandemic (Segment A) and during the first three months of the first wave of the pandemic in Quebec, Canada (Segment B). At T0, participants completed the Dominic Interactive to assess pre-pandemic internalizing and externalizing symptoms. A socio-emotional composite score (SECS) was derived using a weighted z-score with the following constructs: anxiety sensitivity (Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index) measured at T0, trait anxiety (Trait subscale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAI-C)), intolerance of uncertainty (Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale for Children), and trait rumination (Children's Response Style Scale) measured at T1. A linear regression was conducted using the percent change in HCC across Segment A and B as the dependent variable, where SECS, pre-pandemic internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and sex were used as predictors. We found a main effect of sex, with girls presenting increased HCC reactivity compared to boys. We also found that SECS and internalizing symptoms negatively predicted HCC, whereas the opposite relationship was found between externalizing symptoms and HCC reactivity. For healthy children, our results suggest that previous psychiatric symptoms and socio-emotional vulnerability may be risk factors for the presentation of diverging cortisol response patterns in response to an adverse life event (such as the COVID-19 pandemic).

'Doctor, I am so stressed out!' A descriptive study of biological, psychological, and socioemotional markers of stress in individuals who self-identify as being 'very stressed out' or 'zen'.

Surveys report that about three-quarters of visits to general practitioners in America are for stress-related complaints. Animal and human studies have consistently demonstrated that exposure to acute and/or chronic stress leads to the activation of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and/or hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and to the production of catecholamines and glucocorticoids. Yet, many studies performed in humans do not report significant associations between subjective feelings of stress and increases in these stress biomarkers. Consequently, it is not clear whether the stress-related complaints of individuals are associated with significant increases in these stress biomarkers. In the present study, we measured whether individuals who self-identify as being 'very stressed out' or 'zen' present differences in psychological (depression and anxiety symptoms), biological (basal and reactive levels of glucocorticoids and alpha-amylase) and socioemotional (emotion regulation, mind wandering, personality, resilience and positive mental health) factors associated with stress. Salivary levels of cortisol and alpha-amylase were obtained in the home environment and in reaction to the Trier Social Stress Test in 123 adults aged between 19 and 55 years. All participants completed questionnaires assessing the psychological and socioemotional factors described above. The results showed that groups significantly differed on almost all psychological and socioemotional factors, although we found no significant group differences on biological markers of stress (cortisol or alpha-amylase). These results suggest that when people complain of being 'very stressed out', what they may really be alluding to is an experience of psychological distress that is related to poor emotion regulation capacities. It is thus possible that the construct of stress used by people to discuss their internal state of 'stress' is quite different than the construct of stress measured in animal and human laboratories using biomarkers of 'stress'.

Cardiac and pleuropulmonary involvement in Erdheim-Chester disease without bone lesions: A case report.

Erdheim-Chester disease is a rare multisystemic non-Langerhans histiocytosis characterized by histiocytes that stain positive for CD68 and negative for CD1a. Skeletal involvement is reported to be present in up to 96% cases and BRAF mutation in about half of the cases. Here, we report a patient with an unusual longstanding BRAF-negative Erdheim-Chester disease without bone lesions who developed pleuropulmonary and cardiac involvement.

A longitudinal investigation of psychological distress in children during COVID-19: the role of socio-emotional vulnerability.

Background: Although the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the incidence of distress in youth, some children show increased resilience, emphasizing the need to better understand the predictors of distress in youth. Objective: This longitudinal study aimed to assess the combined impact of known socio-emotional predictors of stress-related psychopathology, namely anxiety sensitivity, anxiety trait, intolerance to uncertainty, and rumination, on COVID-related distress in healthy youth. Method: A total of 92 parent-child dyads that previously participated in a laboratory-based experiment assessing observational fear learning in families between 2017 and 2019 (T0) were recontacted. Of them, 84 children aged between 9 and 14 agreed to participate. They completed online questionnaires in June 2020 (T1), September 2020 (T2), December 2020 (T3), and March 2021 (T4). Participants were free of mental illness at T0 and T1. To create a socio-emotional composite score (SECS), we measured anxiety sensitivity (Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index) at T0, trait anxiety (Trait subscale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAI-C)), intolerance to uncertainty (Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale for Children), and trait rumination (Children's Response Style Scale) at T1 and created a weighted z-score. To assess symptoms of anxiety, post-traumatic stress (PTS), and depression in reaction to COVID-19, participants completed the State subscale of the STAI-C, the Children's Revised Impact of Event Scale, and the Children's Depression Inventory at T1-T4. Three general linear models were run with sex, age group (9-11 and 12+ years old), and SECS as predictors. Results: Analyses revealed a SECS*Time interaction, with higher SECS predicting elevated anxiety symptoms at T1 and T4, and elevated PTS symptoms at T1 and T2. Conclusion: These results suggest that healthy youth endorsing high levels of socio-emotional vulnerability to psychopathology have a higher risk of suffering from anxiety and PTS, but not depressive symptoms, in the year following a major stressor.

Antecedentes: Aunque la pandemia de COVID-19 ha aumentado la incidencia de angustia en jóvenes, algunos niños muestran una mayor resiliencia, relevando la necesidad de comprender mejor los predictores de la angustia en los jóvenes.Objetivo: Este estudio longitudinal tuvo como objetivo evaluar el impacto combinado de los predictores socioemocionales conocidos de la psicopatología relacionada con el estrés, como son la sensibilidad a la ansiedad, rasgos ansiosos, intolerancia a la incertidumbre y rumiación, en la angustia relacionada con COVID en jóvenes sanos.Método: 92 díadas de padres e hijos que participaron previamente en un experimento de laboratorio que evaluó el aprendizaje del miedo observacional en familias entre 2017 y 2019 (T0) fueron contactados nuevamente. Participaron 84 niños de entre 9 y 14 años. Completaron cuestionarios en línea en junio de 2020 (T1), septiembre de 2020 (T2), diciembre de 2020 (T3) y marzo de 2021 (T4). Los participantes estaban libres de enfermedad mental en T0 y T1. Para crear una puntuación socioemocional compuesta (SECS), medimos la sensibilidad a la ansiedad (Índice de sensibilidad a la ansiedad infantil) en T0, rasgo de ansiedad (subescala de rasgo del Inventario de ansiedad estado-rasgo para niños (STAI-C)), intolerancia a la incertidumbre (escala de intolerancia a la incertidumbre para niños) y rasgo de rumiación (Escala de estilo de respuesta en niños) en T1 y se creó una puntuación z ponderada. Para evaluar los síntomas de ansiedad, estrés postraumático (PTS) y depresión en reacción al COVID-19, los participantes completaron la subescala de estado de STAI-C, la escala de impacto de eventos para niños revisada, y el inventario de depresión infantil en T1­T4. Se ejecutaron tres modelos lineales generales con sexo, grupo de edad (9­11 y 12+ años) y SECS como predictores.Resultados: Los análisis revelaron una interacción entre el tiempo y la puntuación socioemocional compuesta (SECS), donde un SECS más alto predice síntomas de ansiedad elevados en T1 y T4, y síntomas elevados de PTS (Estrés post traumático) en T1 y T2.Conclusión: Estos resultados sugieren que la juventud sana que presenten altos niveles de vulnerabilidad socioemocional a la psicopatología, tiene un mayor riesgo desufrir de ansiedad y síndrome de estrés postraumático, pero no síntomas depresivos, en el año siguiente a un evento estresante mayor.

Adult Women First Exposed to Early Adversity After 8 Years Old Show Attentional Bias to Threat.

Exposure to early adversity (EA) is associated with long-lasting dysregulations in cognitive processes sustained by brain regions that are sensitive to stress hormones: the hippocampus, the amygdala, and the prefrontal cortex. The Life Cycle Model of Stress highlights the importance of considering the timing at which EA began, as these brain regions follow distinct developmental trajectories. We aimed to test this hypothesis by assessing whether adults exposed to EA exhibit different cognitive patterns as a function of the age at which they were first exposed to EA. Eighty-five healthy men and women aged 21-40 years old (y/o) exposed to EA, as assessed by the Adverse Childhood Experience Questionnaire, were grouped based on the age of first exposure to EA: 0-2 y/o ("Infancy": hippocampal development), 3-7 y/o ("Early childhood": amygdala development) and after the age of 8 ("Childhood/Adolescence": frontoamygdala connectivity development). Declarative memory, attentional bias to threat and emotion regulation were measured. Results revealed increased attentional bias to threat in women first exposed to EA after 8 years. This result is in line with the Life Cycle Model of Stress and highlights the importance of considering the age at exposure to EA when investigating the effects of EA on cognitive processes.

Early childhood adversity and HPA axis activity in adulthood:The importance of considering minimal age at exposure.

Early adversity (EA) modulates stress hormone secretion in mixed directions. The Accumulation Model suggests that the number of EA predicts patterns of cortisol dysregulations, while the Life Cycle Model of Stress highlights the importance of considering the timing at which EA began, given that brain regions sensitive to stress hormones follow distinct developmental trajectories. We aimed to test these two models in 85 healthy men and women, aged 21-40 years old who reported having been exposed to EA during childhood. Participants were grouped based on the number of EA events to which they were exposed during their lifespan (Accumulation Model) and the age of first exposure to EA (Life Cycle Model). Diurnal and stress-induced reactive cortisol secretion were measured in all participants. Results showed that although the number of EA was not associated with patterns of basal or reactive cortisol secretion, adults first exposed to EA between the ages of 3 and 7 - an important time window for amygdala development - showed greater cortisol awakening response and lower cortisol reactivity relative to those first exposed to EA before 3 or after 7. These results provide support for the Life Cycle Model of Stress and highlight the importance of considering minimal age at exposure to EA when assessing the effects of early adversity on patterns of cortisol secretion.

Mobile phone use in young adults who self-identify as being "Very stressed out" or "Zen": An exploratory study.

Previous studies have reported a positive association between mobile phone use and psychological stress. However, the reasons why stressed out individuals use their cell phones more are not clear. To gain further insight on this relationship, we performed secondary analyses on a database of 87 healthy young adults aged 18-35 years who self-categorized themselves as being "Very stressed out" (N = 46) or "Zen" (N = 41). All participants were assessed for psychological stress, duration and nature (hedonistic vs. utilitarian) of mobile phone use, involvement with the mobile phone and levels of nomophobia. Results controlled for the exploratory nature of this study showed that although "Very stressed out" and "Zen" individuals used their mobile phone for the same amount of time and were equally involved with it, "Very stressed out" individuals reported a greater use of their mobile phone for hedonistic purposes and were more nomophobic than "Zen" individuals. The results of this exploratory study suggest that highly stressed out individuals might use hedonistic functions of their mobile phone as a tool to deal with stress, thus explaining why they present greater levels of nomophobia.

A time to be chronically stressed? Maladaptive time perspectives are associated with allostatic load.

Living in the past, the present, or the future can affect stress and health. Our group has shown that acute stress (cortisol reactivity) is modulated by time perspectives, the ways we psychologically relate to time. Here, we expand this research with a comprehensive measure of multi-systemic chronic stress (allostatic load). Among 204 healthy adults (60 men; 144 women), we examined whether time perspectives modulate allostatic load measured with 23 neuroendocrine, immune, metabolic, and cardiovascular biomarkers. Five time perspective categories were measured (past negative, past positive, present hedonistic, present fatalistic, future). Multiple regressions controlling for sex, age, and depressive symptoms were used. Increased present fatalistic time perspective was positively correlated with allostatic load, while future time perspective was negatively correlated with allostatic load. Our preliminary findings link time perspective to multisystemic chronic stress and are discussed in the context of potential clinical implications.

Stigma associated with parental depression or cancer: Impact on spouse and offspring's cortisol levels and socioemotional functioning.

Stress associated with caring for a mentally ill spouse can adversely affect the health status of caregivers and their children. Adding to the stress of caregiving is the stigma often placed against spouses and children of people with mental illness. Contrary to mental illness, many physical disorders such as cancer may be less stigmatized (expect pulmonary cancer). In this study, we measured externalized and internalized stigma, as well as psychological (depressive symptoms and stressful life events) and physiological (basal salivary cortisol levels) markers of stress in 115 spouses and 154 children of parents suffering from major depressive disorder, cancer, or no illness (control group). The results show that spouses and children from families with parental depression present significantly more externalized stigma than spouses and children from families with parental cancer or no illness, although we find no group differences on internalized stigma. The analysis did not show a significant group difference either for spouses or their children on depressive symptomatology, although spouses from the parental depression group reported greater work/family stress. Finally, we found that although for both spouses children the awakening cortisol response was greater on weekdays than on weekend days, salivary cortisol levels did not differ between groups. Bayes factor calculated on the null result for cortisol levels was greater than 100, providing strong evidence for the null hypothesis H0. Altogether, these results suggest an impact of stigma toward mental health disorder on psychological markers of stress but no impact of stigma on physiological markers of stress. We suggest that these results may be due to the characteristics of the families who participated in the present study.

Should we suppress or reappraise our stress?: the moderating role of reappraisal on cortisol reactivity and recovery in healthy adults.

BACKGROUND: People differ in their ability to regulate their physiological stress response. Individual differences in emotion regulation strategies such as suppression and reappraisal may explain this differential response to stress. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the current study was to assess whether daily use of suppression and reappraisal as well as their interaction predicted physiological stress reactivity and/or recovery, as assessed by variations in cortisol levels. METHOD: Thirty-eight healthy young adults (13 men) completed the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and were exposed to a psychosocial stressor, throughout which salivary cortisol was measured. RESULTS: Linear regressions showed main effects of reappraisal and suppression on cortisol reactivity and a main effect of suppression on cortisol recovery, where both strategies were positively associated with stress phases. Moreover, results showed a significant interaction of suppression by reappraisal in predicting both cortisol reactivity and recovery. Simple slope tests revealed that reappraisal moderated the association between suppression and both phases of cortisol responsivity. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that reappraisal represents a protective factor against the deleterious effects of suppression on stress responsivity. This study underlines the importance of investigating emotion regulation strategies as a means to understand individual differences in vulnerability to stress-related psychopathologies such as anxiety and depression.

Increased frequency of mind wandering in healthy women using oral contraceptives.

Oral contraceptive (OC) is the most common type of contraceptive method used in industrialized countries. A recent epidemiological study showed that OC use was associated with the onset of depression in young women. Mind wandering, a cognitive process associated with spontaneous thoughts unrelated to the task at-hand, has previously been associated with depressive thinking. Consequently, mind wandering might be a precursor for cognitive vulnerability in individuals who are at-risk for mood disorders. The purpose of this study was to examine the frequency and nature of mind wandering in women using OC in comparison to two control groups: naturally cycling women and men. We recruited 71 participants (28 women currently using OC, 14 naturally cycling women in the luteal phase of their menstrual cycle and 29 men) aged between 18 and 35 years, and measured the frequency and nature (guilt/fear oriented and positive) of mind wandering using the short version of the Imaginal Process Inventory. In all analyses, we controlled for depressive symptoms to delineate the unique association between OC use and mind wandering. We also measured estradiol, progesterone and testosterone to confirm expected group differences in sex hormones concentrations. Results show that women using OC presented increased frequency of mind wandering when compared to naturally cycling women and men who did not differ between each other. The three groups did not differ in terms of the nature of mind wandering. These results show that OC use is associated with increased frequency of mind wandering and suggest that the association between OC use and dysphoric mood described in previous studies may be partially explained by the impact of OC use on cognitive processes underlying mind wandering.

The effects of chronic stress on the human brain: From neurotoxicity, to vulnerability, to opportunity.

For the last five decades, science has managed to delineate the mechanisms by which stress hormones can impact on the human brain. Receptors for glucocorticoids are found in the hippocampus, amygdala and frontal cortex, three brain regions involved in memory processing and emotional regulation. Studies have shown that chronic exposure to stress is associated with reduced volume of the hippocampus and that chronic stress can modulate volumes of both the amygdala and frontal cortex, suggesting neurotoxic effects of stress hormones on the brain. Yet, other studies report that exposure to early adversity and/or familial/social stressors can increase vulnerability to stress in adulthood. Models have been recently developed to describe the roles that neurotoxic and vulnerability effects can have on the developing brain. These models suggest that developing early stress interventions could potentially counteract the effects of chronic stress on the brain and results going along with this hypothesis are summarized.

Early child adversity and psychopathology in adulthood: HPA axis and cognitive dysregulations as potential mechanisms.

Early adversity (EA) has been shown to be a potent risk factor for developing a psychopathology in adulthood. Alterations of the stress system in addition to changes in brain development have been suggested to explain some of the psychopathologies associated with EA. The stress response involves the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis, which leads to the production of glucocorticoids (GCs; cortisol in humans). Being soluble in lipids, GCs easily cross the blood brain barrier and access GC receptors in the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and amygdala. These three brain structures do not develop at the same rhythm in humans and recent models suggest that exposition to EA at different times throughout cerebral development can induce a differential vulnerability to diverse mental illnesses. Although these models are of interest, they do not provide any mechanism(s) through which exposition to EA could lead to an increased vulnerability to certain mental illnesses and not others. Interestingly, the main brain structures that are affected by the chronic secretion of stress hormones during childhood (hippocampus, prefrontal cortex and amygdala) are differentially involved in various cognitive functions (memory, emotion regulation, encoding of emotional memories, etc.). It is therefore proposed that exposure to EA, by affecting the development of specific brain structures, might alter the underlying cognitive process of these brain regions, and increase vulnerability to specific mental disorders in adulthood.

Gonads and strife: Sex hormones vary according to sexual orientation for women and stress indices for both sexes.

This study assessed sexual orientation and psychobiological stress indices in relation to salivary sex hormones as part of a well-validated laboratory-based stress paradigm. Participants included 87 healthy adults that were on average 25 years old who self-identified as lesbian/bisexual women (n=20), heterosexual women (n=21), gay/bisexual men (n=26), and heterosexual men (n=20). Two saliva samples were collected fifteen minutes before and fifteen minutes after exposure to a modified Trier Social Stress Test to determine testosterone, estradiol, and progesterone concentrations via enzyme-immune assaying. Mean sex hormones were further tested in association to stress indices related to cortisol systemic output (area under the curve with respect to ground) based on ten measures throughout the two-hour visit, allostatic load indexed using 21 biomarkers, and perceived stress assessed using a well-validated questionnaire. Results revealed that lesbian/bisexual women had higher overall testosterone and progesterone concentrations than heterosexual women, while no differences were found among gay/bisexual men in comparison to heterosexual men. Lesbian/bisexual women and heterosexual men showed positive associations between mean estradiol concentrations and allostatic load, while gay/bisexual men and heterosexual women showed positive associations between mean testosterone and cortisol systemic output. In summary, sex hormone variations appear to vary according to sexual orientation among women, but also as a function of cortisol systemic output, allostatic load, and perceived stress for both sexes.

Salivary Cortisol Levels and Depressive Symptomatology in Consumers and Nonconsumers of Self-Help Books: A Pilot Study.

The self-help industry generates billions of dollars yearly in North America. Despite the popularity of this movement, there has been surprisingly little research assessing the characteristics of self-help books consumers, and whether this consumption is associated with physiological and/or psychological markers of stress. The goal of this pilot study was to perform the first psychoneuroendocrine analysis of consumers of self-help books in comparison to nonconsumers. We tested diurnal and reactive salivary cortisol levels, personality, and depressive symptoms in 32 consumers and nonconsumers of self-help books. In an explorative secondary analysis, we also split consumers of self-help books as a function of their preference for problem-focused versus growth-oriented self-help books. The results showed that while consumers of growth-oriented self-help books presented increased cortisol reactivity to a psychosocial stressor compared to other groups, consumers of problem-focused self-help books presented higher depressive symptomatology. The results of this pilot study show that consumers with preference for either problem-focused or growth-oriented self-help books present different physiological and psychological markers of stress when compared to nonconsumers of self-help books. This preliminary study underlines the need for additional research on this issue in order to determine the impact the self-help book industry may have on consumers' stress.

Sex hormones adjust "sex-specific" reactive and diurnal cortisol profiles.

Sex differences in stress hormone functions are presumed to depend on sex hormones. And yet, surprisingly few psychoneuroendocrine studies actually assess within-sex variations of testosterone, estradiol, and progesterone when investigating sex-specific activities of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. In this methodological study of 204 healthy adults (60 men), we assessed whether cortisol profiles would differ between the sexes when unadjusted or adjusted for basal sex hormones among both sexes. Reactive cortisol was sampled using 6 saliva samples measured every 10-min as part of the Trier Social Stress Test that generally activates cortisol among men more than women. Diurnal cortisol was sampled over two days at (1) awakening, (2) 30-min thereafter, (3) 1400 h, (4) 1600 h, and (5) bedtime. Sex hormones were collected at baseline before the psychosocial stressor and on two occasions during diurnal cortisol assessment. Repeated-measures analysis of covariance controlled for key covariates in analyses unadjusted or adjusted for sex hormones. Results revealed that men had higher reactive cortisol than women in unadjusted analysis, but this sex difference was attenuated when adjusting for sex hormones. While diurnal cortisol showed no sex differences in unadjusted models, adjusting for sex hormones revealed that women have higher morning cortisol. Correlations using area under the curve formulae revealed intriguing sex-specific associations with progesterone in men and testosterone in women that we propose have implications for social and affective neuroscience. In summary, our results reveal that adjusting for sex hormones alters "sex-specific" reactive and diurnal cortisol profiles.

Sexual orientation modulates endocrine stress reactivity.

BACKGROUND: Biological sex differences and sociocultural gender diversity influence endocrine stress reactivity. Although numerous studies have shown that men typically activate stronger stress responses than women when exposed to laboratory-based psychosocial stressors, it is unclear whether sexual orientation further modulates stress reactivity. Given that lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals frequently report heightened distress secondary to stigma-related stressors, we investigated whether cortisol stress reactivity differs between LGB individuals and heterosexual individuals in response to a well-validated psychosocial stressor. METHODS: The study population comprised 87 healthy adults (mean age, 25 years) who were grouped according to their biological sex and their gendered sexual orientation: lesbian/bisexual women (n = 20), heterosexual women (n = 21), gay/bisexual men (n = 26), and heterosexual men (n = 20). Investigators collected 10 salivary cortisol samples throughout a 2-hour afternoon visit involving exposure to the Trier Social Stress Test modified to maximize between-sex differences. RESULTS: Relative to heterosexual women, lesbian/bisexual women showed higher cortisol stress reactivity 40 min after exposure to the stressor. In contrast, gay/bisexual men displayed lower overall cortisol concentrations throughout testing compared with heterosexual men. Main findings were significant while adjusting for sex hormones (estradiol-to-progesterone ratio in women and testosterone in men), age, self-esteem, and disclosure status (whether LGB participants had completed their "coming out"). CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide novel evidence for gender-based modulation of cortisol stress reactivity based on sexual orientation that goes beyond well-established between-sex differences. This study raises several important avenues for future research related to the physiologic functioning of LGB populations and gender diversity more broadly.