Altered neuroendocrine activity in maltreated children related to symptoms of depression

Jordan Hart · Megan R. Gunnar · Dante Cicchetti

188 citations0/0 files storedDevelopment and Psychopathology

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Child Abuse and Trauma Child Welfare and Adoption Stress Responses and Cortisol

Abstract

Abstract This study examined the effects of stressful environments on physiological and affective functioning among 131 maltreated school-aged children attending a summer day camp. Sixty-six nonmaltreated children also attending the camp served as a comparison group. Salivary Cortisol measures were obtained daily at 10:00 a.m. and at 4:00 p.m. Depression was measured using the Child Depression Inventory. Children with scores of 19 or higher were classified as depressed. Internalizing and externalizing behavior problems were determined from the Teacher Report Form of the Child Behavior Checklist. Children with t scores of 70 or higher were classified as having clinical levels of these problems. Maltreated children had slightly elevated afternoon Cortisol concentrations, but their morning concentrations did not differ significantly from those of nonmaltreated children. Neither clinical levels of depression, internalizing, or externalizing problems were predictive of the elevated afternoon values. Depression among maltreated children was, however, associated with altered activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis. Depressed maltreated children had lower morning Cortisol concentrations compared to nondepressed maltreated children and were more likely to show a rise rather than the expected decrease in Cortisol from morning to afternoon. These data replicated earlier findings. There was no evidence that depressed, nonmaltreated children exhibited this change in diurnal Cortisol activity.

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References

1977General System Theory: Foundations, Development, Applications 1993Impact of sexual abuse on children: A review and synthesis of recent empirical studies.1985The Assessment of Affective Disorders in Children and Adolescents by Semistructured Interview 1995A Developmental Psychopathology Perspective on Child Abuse and Neglect 1981Developmental perspectives on the etiology, intergenerational transmission, and sequelae of child maltreatment 1994The impact of subtype, frequency, chronicity, and severity of child maltreatment on social competence and behavior problems 1994Development and self-regulatory structures of the mind 1993Effects of domestic violence on children's behavior problems and depression.

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2013Neuropsychological Findings in Pediatric Maltreatment 2017Maltreatment and diurnal cortisol regulation: A meta-analysis 2011The traumatic stress response in child maltreatment and resultant neuropsychological effects 2011Interpersonal violence in childhood as a risk factor for obesity: a systematic review of the literature and proposed pathways 2003

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