Direct and moderating links of salivary alpha-amylase and cortisol stress-reactivity to youth behavioral and emotional adjustment
Open accessAbstract
Recent studies have revealed evidence for interactions between autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity, indexed by saliva alpha amylase (sAA), and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical activity, in predicting psychological functioning. The present study extends this work by examining individual differences in sAA and cortisol stress reactivity in relation to behavioral and emotional adjustment in youth. Participants were 56 healthy children (age 7-16). sAA, cortisol, and other physiological and affective responses were measured before, during, and after stressor tasks (either performance or peer rejection). Basal and stress responsive sAA and cortisol as well as their interactions were assessed in relation to externalizing and internalizing behaviors and trait anxiety. sAA was positively related to anxiety, while sAA reactivity moderated associations between cortisol reactivity and problem behavior. Results highlight the importance of measuring multiple physiological systems to elucidate mechanisms underlying behavioral and emotional dysregulation.
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The ability to regulate emotions plays a moderating role in HPA responses to social stress.
“Others have found that the ability to regulate emotions plays a similar moderating role in HPA responses to social stress (Allwood et al., 2011; Daubenmier et al., 2014)”
From Effects of adverse childhood experiences on the association between intranasal oxytocin and social stress reactivity among individuals with cocaine dependence (2015) · cites this paper as Allwood et al., 2011
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- Authors
- Allwood, M. A., Handwerger, K., Kivlighan, K. T., Granger, D. A., & Stroud, L. R.
- Affiliations
- John Jay College of Criminal Justice (US)
- Tufts University (US)
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- Brown University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Allwood, Maureen A.
- Venue
- Biological Psychology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2011-09
- Volume
- 88
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 57-64
- ISSN
- 0301-0511 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3270695
- OpenAlex
- W2120477073
- Cited by
- 135
- References
- 70
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 3.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Biological Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression
- National Institute of Mental Health (K23MH65443, K23MH065443)
- National Cancer Institute (P50 CA84719, P50CA084719)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control
- Keywords
- salivary amylase, cortisol, stress reactivity, autonomic nervous system, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, youth, behavioral adjustment, emotional adjustment, externalizing problems, internalizing problems, trait anxiety, peer rejection, moderation, individual differences
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, alpha-Amylases, Analysis of Variance, Blood Pressure, Child, Child Behavior, Emotions, Female, Heart Rate, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Male, Neuropsychological Tests, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Saliva, Social Adjustment, Stress, Psychological
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