Influence of Life Events on the Stress Response in Healthy Children and Adolescents

Abstract

A life event is as an occurrence that involves a subsequent change in the life pattern of an individual (Holmes & Rahe, 1967). The current study investigated whether exposure to life events over the past year influenced hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis function in healthy children and adolescents, and explored whether sex, age, behavioural inhibition, trait anxiety, anxiety sensitivity, perceived parental bonding, and parental history of anxiety moderated this relationship. The sample included 147 healthy children and adolescents. Participants were administered Coddington’s Life Events Scale (CLES) and salivary cortisol was collected for the determination of the cortisol awakening response (CAR), diurnal cortisol, and cortisol reactivity to a laboratory stressor. Separate linear regression models were conducted for each cortisol profile. Results revealed that life events significantly predicted total CAR output, diurnal cortisol response, and cortisol reactivity to a laboratory stressor. Further, behavioural inhibition, trait anxiety, not having a parental history of anxiety, and paternal caring positively moderated some of the relationships between life events and cortisol profiles. Considering the physiological and psychological effects of early exposure to stress, this study is significant in understanding the impact of life events to improve the health of children and adolescents.