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How children's anxiety symptoms impact the functioning of the hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis over time: A cross-lagged panel approach using hierarchical linear modeling

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2018

Denise Ma ,
Lisa A. Serbin  and
Dale M. Stack
Denise Ma*
Affiliation:
Concordia University
Lisa A. Serbin
Affiliation:
Concordia University
Dale M. Stack
Affiliation:
Concordia University
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Denise Ma, Centre for Research in Human Development, Department of Psychology, PY-211, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec H4B 1R6, Canada; E-mail: [email protected].
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Abstract

Anxiety symptoms in childhood and adolescence can have a long-term negative impact on mental and physical health. Although studies have shown dysregulation of the hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis is associated with anxiety disorders, it is unclear how and in what direction children's experiences of anxiety symptoms, which include physiological and cognitive–emotional dimensions, impact the functioning of the hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis over time. We hypothesized that higher physiological symptoms would be contemporaneously associated with hypercortisolism, whereas cognitive–emotional symptoms would be more chronic, reflecting traitlike stability, and would predict hypocortisolism over time. One hundred twenty children from the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Research Project were followed in successive data collection waves approximately 3 years apart from childhood through midadolescence. Between ages 10–12 and 13–15, children completed self-report questionnaires of anxiety symptoms and provided salivary cortisol samples at 2-hr intervals over 2 consecutive days. The results from hierarchical linear modeling showed that higher physiological symptoms were concurrently associated with hypercortisolism, involving cortisol levels that remained elevated over the day. In contrast, longitudinal results over the 3 years between data collection waves showed that chronic worry and social concerns predicted hypocortisolism, showing a low and blunted diurnal cortisol profile. These results have implications for broadening our understanding of the links between anxiety, the stress response system, and health across the course of development.

Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 31 , Special Issue 1: The effect of maltreatment experiences on maltreating and dysfunctional parenting: A search for mechanisms , February 2019 , pp. 309 - 323
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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Footnotes

Denise Ma, Lisa A. Serbin, and Dale M. Stack conducted this research at the Centre for Research in Human Development in the Department of Psychology at Concordia University. The current research is an extension of the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project, which was started by Drs. Jane Ledingham and Alex Schwartzman in 1976. The authors acknowledge the generous grant support for this research from the Fonds de Récherche du Quebec Société et Culture (2005-PS-103501) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (410-2002-1279 and 410-2005-1599). We are grateful to Claude Senneville and all members of the Concordia Project team for their assistance in data collection. Finally, this study would not be possible without the involvement of all of the participants and families over the years.

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