1-186 - Latina(o) Adolescents’ Cortisol Responses to Psychosocial Stress: Experimental and Field Approaches

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and its hormonal product cortisol, help to mobilize physiological and psychological resources in response to stress. While short-term cortisol activation fulfills vital functions, chronic activation can contribute to mental and physical health problems over time. Often treated as a homogenous group in comparison to other racial/ethnic groups, the diversity among Latino youth (and the diverse ways in which they respond to psychosocial stress) has received little attention in studies of stress physiology, despite recent projections that Latinos will account for almost 30% of the national population by 2060. In order to connect disparate literatures on neuroendocrine stress responses and Latino youth development, the papers in this symposium examine variation in cortisol stress reactivity and daily cortisol patterns among samples of Latino adolescents. Together, the studies span the adolescent years (middle school, high school), geographical regions (CA, AZ, Midwest), and methodological approaches (lab experiments, daily saliva collection), providing critical attention to issues of development, context, and study design in stress physiology research with this population. Each paper tests a unique, theoretically-motivated predictor or moderator of Latino adolescents’ cortisol reactivity to stress or diurnal cortisol output (e.g., cortisol awakening response), including indices of self-regulation (e.g., emotion dysregulation, effortful control) and cultural adaptation (e.g., biculturalism, cultural values). This symposium reflects SRCD’s strategic goals by (1) including more diverse contexts and methods to advance integrative developmental science, and (2) incorporating racial, cultural, and contextual diversity to reflect the individuals and communities we study.

Sub Unit

• Biological Processes: Psychophysiology

Chair

• Michael R Sladek, Harvard University

Individual Presentations

• Associations among Latino Adolescents' Emotional/Behavioral Dysregulation and Cortisol Responses to the Trier Social Stress Test - Presenting Author: Vanesa M Perez, Arizona State University; Non-Presenting Author: Nancy Gonzales, Arizona State University

• The Role of Bicultural Adaptation, Familism, and Family Conflict in Mexican American Adolescents’ Cortisol Reactivity - Presenting Author: Nancy Gonzales, Arizona State University; Non-Presenting Author: Megan Johnson, University of California - Berkeley; Non-Presenting Author: Elizabeth A Shirtcliff, Iowa State University; Non-Presenting Author: Jenn Yunn-Tein, Arizona State University; Non-Presenting Author: Brenda Eskenazi, University of California - Berkeley; Non-Presenting Author: Julianna Deardorff, University of California, Berkeley

• Latino Adolescents’ Cultural Values Moderate Cortisol Responses to Everyday Stress - Presenting Author: Michael R Sladek, Harvard University; Non-Presenting Author: Leah D. Doane, Arizona State University; Non-Presenting Author: Nancy Gonzales, Arizona State University; Non-Presenting Author: Kevin Grimm, Arizona State University; Non-Presenting Author: Linda Luecken, Arizona State University

• Longitudinal Associations of Diurnal Cortisol and Effortful Control on Midwestern Latino Youth’s Depressive Problems - Presenting Author: Zoe Ellen Taylor, Purdue University; Non-Presenting Author: Kristine Marceau, Purdue University; Non-Presenting Author: Carly Evich, Purdue University; Non-Presenting Author: Blake Lee Jones, Brigham Young University