Adverse childhood experiences and prospective changes in diurnal cortisol activity during the transition to adolescence: Moderation by daily coping and adolescent sex.
Aug 2026· Psychoneuroendocrinology· Vol 193, pp.
107999
· 0 citations· 67 references
Medicine
TL;DR
By observing coping as a moderator between ACEs and cortisol patterns, this study demonstrates that associations between ACEs and diurnal cortisol differ across adolescents' coping use and coping variability.
Abstract
Purpose
Examining circadian hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity during adolescence is vital for understanding physiological changes. Limited research explores risk and protective factors for diurnal HPA activity. This study investigates how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and coping are associated with changes in diurnal cortisol patterns, using a combination of physiological biomarkers (i.e., salivary cortisol), daily diaries, and longitudinal assessments spanning two years.
Methods
The sample included 316 Chinese adolescents (33% females; T1 Mage = 10.79 years, SD = 0.84). At T1, adolescents reported ACEs, completed 7-day diaries on coping, and provided saliva samples for three consecutive days. Two years later (T2), adolescents completed a follow-up assessment on diurnal cortisol activity. Latent change score modeling was conducted to investigate changing patterns in diurnal cortisol and associations of ACEs and coping with the changing patterns.
Results
From T1 to T2, waking cortisol decreased, CAR increased, and diurnal cortisol slopes became steeper. ACEs were associated with initial levels of diurnal cortisol activity but not changes in it: more ACEs were linked to higher T1 waking cortisol and a smaller T1 CAR. Higher ACEs were also associated with later wake-up times; later wake-up was associated with lower T1 CAR, more blunted T1 diurnal slopes, and flatter diurnal slopes across time. Daily coping (mean and variability) moderated the associations between ACEs and diurnal cortisol.
Conclusion
By observing coping as a moderator between ACEs and cortisol patterns, this study demonstrates that associations between ACEs and diurnal cortisol differ across adolescents' coping use and coping variability.
Whether pubertal timing across the ages of 8–15.5 years was associated with diurnal cortisol slope, the cortisol awakening response, total morning cortisol, and total daily cortisol output at the age of 15.5 years was sought.
OBJECTIVES
Cortisol dysregulation, reflective of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation, has been linked to executive functioning (EF) decline. However, substantial effect-size heterogeneity across studies highlights the potential role of psychosocial moderators. We investigated whether the severity of perceived daily stressors and chronic worry moderated the relationships between baseline cortisol dysregulation and 9-year EF.
METHODS
Community adults (N = 1,617) completed four-day, four-times-daily salivary cortisol sampling and an eight-day interview-driven daily diary at baseline. Three cortisol metrics were computed: area under the curve (AUC), cortisol awakening response (CAR), and diurnal cortisol slope (DCS). Linear mixed models determined whether daily stressor or chronic worry severity moderated associations between baseline cortisol metrics and 9-year EF, adjusting for baseline EF.
RESULTS
Daily stressor severity significantly moderated the relationship between DCS-but not AUC or CAR-and 9-year EF (Cohen's d = 0.113). Flatter DCS was associated with poorer EF across all stressor severity levels, although the observed numerical attenuation at higher severity was not statistically confirmed. Chronic worry severity was significantly associated with lower 9-year EF across all cortisol metrics and significantly moderated the CAR-to-EF relationship (d = -0.176). Exploratory analyses suggested that a flatter DCS was associated with worse EF at higher worry severity, but this interaction was not significant.
DISCUSSION
These outcomes broadly align with moderation, not mediation, suggesting that psychosocial stress and worry can amplify, rather than yield, cortisol-linked relationships with EF. Pending replication, HPA-axis circadian modulation and chronic worry severity can indicate viable targets for prevention research.
N. Zainal, Stephanie Noble· The journals of gerontology....· 0 citations
Nonlinear interactions between cortisol indices and daily stressor severity appear to predict 9-year alcohol use disorder and substance use disorder severity, with cortisol area under the curve emerging as the most robust indicator.
N. Zainal, Natalia Van Doren· Addiction· 0 citations
A single afternoon salivary cortisol measurement was not associated with same-day state anxiety in community-dwelling older adults in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this null finding should be interpreted in the context of the present study design and measurement approach.
Adolescence represents a developmental phase marked by profound and rapidly shifting emotional states. While some adolescents exhibit pronounced, day-to-day mood variability, others remain comparatively stable. Although emotional fluctuation has long been considered a core feature with implications for health and well-being, the determinants underlying these substantial individual differences remain insufficiently understood. To address this, we conducted a longitudinal study using daily app-based assessments, aiming to explore whether perceived stress and self-esteem dynamics help explain why some adolescents show greater mood variability than others. We asked N = 70 adolescents to rate their self-esteem, positive, and negative mood once per day for 15 days. For data analyses, we used path analytic mediation modeling. Fluctuation of self-esteem (FSE) significantly predicted both fluctuation of positive mood (FPM; b = 0.282, 95% CI [0.101, 0.464], p = .0.002) and fluctuation of negative mood (FNM; b = 0.395, 95% CI [0.147, 0.644], p = 0.002) indicating that greater variability in self-esteem is associated with greater mood fluctuation. Moreover, perceived stress (PS) significantly predicted FSE (b = 0.057, 95% CI [0.012, 0.102], p = 0.013), suggesting that higher perceived stress was associated with greater self-esteem fluctuation. Significant indirect effect emerged for PS on FPM (b = 0.016, 95% CI [0.003, 0.030], p = 0.019) and on FNM (b = 0.023, 95% CI [0.002, 0.043], p = 0 .028) via FSE, confirming a mediating role of self-esteem fluctuations. This study showed that perceived stress was associated with fluctuations in self-esteem, which were related to mood variability among adolescents. These findings suggest that stress reduction could be explored as a potential avenue for future interventions.
C. Borzikowsky, M. Prignitz, Stella Guldner et al.· Scientific Reports· 0 citations
BACKGROUND
Emotional eating behaviors, defined as the tendency to eat in response to negative emotions, increase in frequency throughout adolescence and have been linked to negative health outcomes, including higher body weight and unhealthier dietary patterns. Although cross-sectional studies have established relationships between emotional eating and sleep disturbances in adolescents, the directionality and underlying mechanisms of this association remain unclear. This study therefore examined within-person associations between emotional eating and sleep disturbances across adolescence.
METHODS
A sample of 3216 adolescents from the Generation R Study, a prospective population-based cohort in the Netherlands, was examined across three time points (ages 10, 14, and 18). Associations were modelled using a Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model (RI-CLPM). Multi-group RI-CLPMs were estimated to explore differences in cross-lagged pathways by sex, anxiety problems, affective problems, national origin, maternal education, and weight status.
RESULTS
No intra-individual cross-lagged associations were found in the overall sample. However, a small within-person concurrent association at age 18 was observed, suggesting co-occurrence of emotional eating and sleep disturbances in late adolescence. Multi-group analyses showed that emotional eating at age 14 predicted increased sleep disturbances at age 18 among adolescents of European origin and those at low risk of overweight at age 10.
CONCLUSION
While no consistent intra-individual directional effects were found across adolescence, findings suggest that emotional eating may contribute to later sleep disturbances in specific subgroups. Further research with extended follow-up into adulthood is warranted.
V. van Garling, H. Harris, P. W. Jansen· Eating Behaviors· 0 citations
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