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Cortisol levels six-years after participation in the Family Bereavement Program

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2009.11.002Get rights and content

Summary

Recent studies have found short-term adrenocortical benefits of early interventions for at-risk children. The current study evaluated the effects of the Family Bereavement Program on cortisol levels six years after the program. Parentally bereaved children were randomly assigned to the 12-week preventive intervention (n = 78) or a self-study control (n = 61) condition. Six years later (mean age 17.5), salivary cortisol levels were measured before and after a conflict discussion task conducted in late afternoon/early evening. The intervention group had significantly higher cortisol levels across the task compared to the control group, and lower cortisol was associated with higher externalizing symptoms. The group effect did not differ by age at the time of death, and the group difference remained significant after adjustment for pre-intervention mental health and current mental health symptoms. Results suggest that a family-focused intervention for parentally bereaved youth may have prevented the development of attenuated cortisol secretion suggestive of dysregulation and associated with externalizing problems.

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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