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Cited by 149Stress Responses and CortisolChild Abuse and TraumaGrief, Bereavement, and Mental Health

Childhood parental loss and cortisol levels in adult men

Nicolson, Nancy A·2004·Psychoneuroendocrinology
DOI 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2003.09.005
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Abstract

Although data from animal studies show that early rearing experiences can have lasting effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, little is known about the relationship between childhood parental loss and adult cortisol levels in humans. In the current study, 57 healthy adult men completed a telephone interview concerning parental loss or separations before age 17. Salivary cortisol measures, taken 10 times a day for 5 days in the daily environment, were available from an earlier study. Nine subjects had experienced the death of a parent during childhood. Compared to levels in 38 subjects who had experienced neither loss nor a separation > two weeks, parental loss by death was associated with higher cortisol throughout the day (F(1,44) = 4.73, p = 0.035). Men who had lost a parent scored no higher than those with no loss or separation on trait anxiety or current depressive symptoms, and the effect of parental loss on cortisol remained significant after controlling for these variables. Cortisol patterns in men who had been temporarily separated from one or both parents (n = 10) were inconsistent. Limitations include a lack of systematic information concerning the quality of care after parental death and other forms of childhood adversity. The sample was too small to assess effects of maternal vs. paternal loss or age at loss. Results suggest that parental death during childhood may have lasting effects on the HPA axis, even in the absence of psychopathology.

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  • Adults who lost a parent during childhood demonstrated higher cortisol throughout the day compared with adults who never experienced separation from their parents for longer than two weeks.

    “For example, adults who lost a parent during childhood demonstrated higher cortisol throughout the day compared with adults who never experienced separation from their parents for longer than two weeks (Nicolson, 2004).”

    From Developmental psychoneuroendocrine and psychoneuroimmune pathways from childhood adversity to disease (2017) · cites this paper as Nicolson, 2004

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Authors
Nicolson, N. A.
Affiliations
Maastricht University (NL)
Corresponding author
Nicolson, Nancy A
ORCID
Nicolson, Nancy A
Venue
Psychoneuroendocrinology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2004-09
Volume
29
Issue
8
Pages
1012-1018
ISSN
0306-4530 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.psyneuen.2003.09.005
OpenAlex
W2097420712
Cited by
149
References
29
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 13
FWCI
1.38
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
Locations
  • Psychoneuroendocrinology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
Keywords
parental loss, cortisol, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, salivary cortisol, diurnal cortisol rhythm, childhood adversity, parental separation, adult male, trait anxiety, depressive symptoms
MeSH terms
Adaptation, Psychological, Adult, Anxiety, Separation, Attitude to Death, Bereavement, Chronic Disease, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System, Male, Maternal Deprivation, Middle Aged, Object Attachment, Parent-Child Relations, Paternal Deprivation, Personality Development, Pituitary-Adrenal System, Reference Values, Saliva

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