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Increased cortisol awakening response and afternoon/evening cortisol output in healthy young adults with low early life parental care

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Abstract

Rationale

Growing evidence from animal and human studies suggests a profound and long-lasting influence of early life experiences—ranging from variations in parenting behavior to severe adversity—on hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis function.

Objectives

The aim of the current investigation was to examine the association between naturally occurring variations in early life parental care and the cortisol awakening response (CAR), afternoon/evening cortisol output and key psychological variables in a sample of healthy young adults.

Methods

Fifty-eight (19 male and 39 female) participants between 18 and 30 years of age completed psychological questionnaires and collected saliva at awakening, 30 min thereafter and at 3 p.m., 6 p.m., and 9 p.m. on three non-consecutive weekdays.

Results

Participants with low (compared to high) parental care experiences exhibited an increased CAR, increased afternoon/evening cortisol output, decreased self-esteem, and increased depressive symptomatology and anxiety.

Conclusions

We suggest that the elevated CAR and afternoon/evening cortisol levels might reflect a biological correlate of adversity-induced vulnerability for psychopathology. This study is first to show an association between the retrospective perception of early life parental care and cortisol circadian rhythms in healthy young adults.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by a grant from the German Research Foundation to VE (EN 859/1-1) and by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR #81143) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (#249996) to JCP. JCP holds a CIHR New Investigator Award. KD is recipient of a CIHR doctoral award.

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Correspondence to Veronika Engert.

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Engert, V., Efanov, S.I., Dedovic, K. et al. Increased cortisol awakening response and afternoon/evening cortisol output in healthy young adults with low early life parental care. Psychopharmacology 214, 261–268 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-010-1918-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-010-1918-4

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