Short communicationCortisol levels six-years after participation in the Family Bereavement Program
Section snippets
Participants
Families with a child aged 8–16 years were recruited from the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area through community presentations and mail solicitation. For complete recruitment and eligibility details, see Sandler et al. (2003). Sample demographics are displayed in Table 1. Participating families were randomly assigned to either the FBP (n = 135) or a home-based self-study (control) condition (n = 109). Of the 244 youth assigned to intervention or control, 218 completed the six-year follow-up. To
Results
The main effect of group on cortisol was significant (β = .092; 95% confidence interval [CI], .011–.174; F(1, 135) = 5.1, p = .026; Cohen's d = .39). The intervention group showed significantly higher cortisol across the task (see Fig. 1), but did not differ in the pattern of response over time (p = .98). The intervention group's cortisol was significantly higher immediately after the task, p = .021, 15 min after the task, p = .021, and 30 min after the task, p = .048. The main effect remained significant after
Discussion
The present study extends previous research on the short-term neurobiological effects of preventive interventions by evaluating cortisol activity in parentally bereaved children six years after participation in a preventive intervention. Adolescents and young adults randomized to the FBP condition exhibited significantly higher cortisol collected across four samples in the late afternoon/early evening compared to youth in the control group. The intervention effects on cortisol did not differ by
Role of funding source
Support for this research was provided by NIMH R01 Grant MH49155 and P30 MH0686856 to conduct the six-year follow-up evaluation of the Family Bereavement Program. NIMH had no further role in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the paper for publication.
Conflicts of interest
None declared.
Acknowledgements
We appreciate critical reviews provided by Michelle Little, Ph.D. and David MacKinnon, Ph.D.
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