ArticleBiological psychiatry2011
Blunted cortisol responses to stress signal social and behavioral problems among maltreated/bullied 12-year-old children.
Article in Biological psychiatry, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 109 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
109 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Childhood Adversities and Salivary Cortisol Responses to the Trier Social Stress Test: A Systematic Review of Studies Using the Children Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ).International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Pooled it
- The association between adversity and hair cortisol levels in humans: A meta-analysis.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2019Pooled it
- Systematic review of pediatric health outcomes associated with childhood adversity.BMC pediatrics · 2018Pooled it
- Early-life adversity and cortisol response to social stress: a meta-analysis.Translational psychiatry · 2017Pooled it
- Trial
- The effect of a mindfulness-based stress intervention on neurobiological and symptom measures in adolescents with early life stress: a randomized feasibility study.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2021Trial
- Trial
- Does cortisol mediate the association between school bullying and weight status in preadolescents?European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- SLC6A4 Gene Methylation in Premature Infants Undergoing Kangaroo Mother Care: A Prospective Longitudinal Study.Biomedicines · 2026Article
- The adrenal is doing what it's supposed to do, you just don't understand it.Neurobiology of stress · 2026Article
- Unpredictability is a childhood adversity that contributes to mental health problems.Nature. Mental health · 2026Article
- The cortisol axis and psychiatric disorders: an updated review.Pharmacological reports : PR · 2025Review
- Relationships Among Bullying Experiences, Mood Symptoms and Suicidality in Subjects with and Without Autism Spectrum Conditions.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- Mobile phone addiction was the mediator and physical activity was the moderator between bullying victimization and sleep quality.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Molecular insights into trauma: A framework of epigenetic pathways to resilience through intervention.Med (New York, N.Y.) · 2025Review
- Hair Cortisol Concentrations in the Prediction of Early Substance Use Engagement in Youth.Substance use & misuse · 2025Article
- Moderation of sex in the Association between School Bullying Behaviors and problematic gaming among Chinese adolescents: a cross-sectional study.BMC psychiatry · 2024Article
- Childhood trauma and hair cortisol response over the year following onset of a chronic life event stressor.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2024Article
- Hair hormone data from Syrian refugee children: Perspectives from a two-year longitudinal study.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2024Review
- Cortisol's diurnal rhythm indexes the neurobiological impact of child adversity in adolescence.Biological psychology · 2024Article
49 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundEvidence from animal and human studies suggests that early-life stress such as physical maltreatment has long-lasting effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and is associated with blunted HPA axis reactivity in adulthood. Few studies have investigated whether blunted HPA axis reactivity observed in children exposed to early-life stress signals social, emotional, and behavioral problems.
methodsParticipants were 190 12-year-old children (50.5% males) recruited from the Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally representative 1994 to 1995 cohort of families with twins. Cortisol responses to psychosocial stress were measured in maltreated/bullied (n = 64) and comparison children (n = 126). We ascertained maltreatment and bullying victimization using mothers' reports and assessed children's social, emotional, and behavioral problems at ages 5 and 12 using mothers' and teachers' reports.
resultsPiecewise multilevel growth curve analyses indicated that maltreated/bullied and comparison children showed distinct cortisol responses to stress. Specifically, maltreated/bullied children had lower cortisol responses than comparison children who exhibited a significant increase. Lower cortisol responses were, in turn, associated with more social and behavioral problems among maltreated/bullied children.
conclusionsThese findings provide support for the influence of childhood harm on blunted HPA axis reactivity and its potential impact on children's functioning. Our findings emphasize the need to integrate stress biomarkers in guiding prevention efforts for young victims.
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