Poster #114 - Cortisol and Executive Functioning for Children in Head Start Preschool

• In Event: Poster Session 09

Abstract

This study examined cortisol levels in relation to executive functioning (EF) across a year of Head Start preschool for children facing economic hardship. Poverty and systemic racism have been linked to deficits in EF (Coley et al., 2015; Garon et al., 2008). This may be explained by stress and trauma, which tax physiological systems such as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal or HPA axis and relate to high levels of the stress hormone cortisol (Blair et al., 2005). High cortisol levels pose problems for the functioning of the prefrontal cortex which is centrally involved in EF (McEwen, 2013).

High cortisol levels have been linked to preschool EF difficulties (e.g., Blair et al., 2005; Brown et al., 2022), yet no published studies have examined how cortisol levels might relate to growth in EF across the year. Stress levels may constrain the potential for Head Start preschool to advance skills that undergird school success for young children facing environmental adversity.

Method

Participants
This study included 372 children ages 3 to 5 years (M = 4 years, 1 month (SD = 6.5 months) who attended a Head Start preschool: 50% were identified as female, 58% male, 55% Black/African Heritage, 14% Latino/a/x or Hispanic Heritage, 9% Asian Heritage, and 20% White/European Heritage, and 98% faced economic hardship.

Procedure
Ethical standards were followed, and all procedures were approved by the appropriate IRBs.
Measures

A parent demographic interview was completed in September.

Child salivary cortisol was assessed on 2 days in October, and at 4 times across the day: 10:30 am, 12pm, 1:30am, and 3pm. A log transformation was applied, and diurnal cortisol output was analyzed using area under the curve with respect to ground (AUCG), using the following, standard formula (Pruessner et al., 2003): AUCG= (m2+m1) t12+(m3+m2) t22+(m4+m3) t32

Child Executive Functioning was assessed using the teacher version of the BRIEF-P (Gioia et al., 2003); a well validated rating scale for preschool children in October (M = 50.65, SD = 46.76), February (M = 27.81, SD = 32.86), and June (M = 30.52, SD = 35.52).

Results and Interpretation

A zero-order correlation analysis showed statistical relations linking cortisol output in October to executive functioning (EF) in October (r = .19, p < .001) and February (r = .14, p = .006). The relation was not significant for June EF (r = .08, p = .138).

Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to examine relations linking cortisol and demographic covariates to initial EF and growth across the preschool year. Figure 1 displays the final model, which showed good fit for the sample data (χ2 = 8.530, p = .743 > .05; RMSEA = .000, CFI = .991 > .95).

Table 1 displays standardized regression coefficients. Children tended to improve in EF difficulties, but those with higher initial cortisol levels showed greater initial difficulties (β = 31.93, p < .001) and less improvement (β = -10.84, p = .003). The stress levels children bring to Head Start preschool may constrain opportunities for growth in skills that undergird school success.

Authors

• Ellie Brown, West Chester University

• Fola Shokunbi, West Chester University
  Presenting Author

• Zachary Weaver, West Chester University

• Mallory Leigh Garnett, University of Delaware

• Steven John Holochwost, City University of New York Lehman College