Poster #19 - Caregivers’ Cortisol Reactivity to a Trauma Interview: Links to Adolescent Security in an Economically Disadvantaged Sample

• In Event: 3-206 - Poster Session 13
  In Poster Session: PS 13 Section - Biological Processes: Psychophysiology

Integrative Statement

Introduction: Caregivers’ exposure to trauma has frequently been implicated in their children’s functioning. Children of traumatized caregivers are at heightened risk for a range of emotional and behavior problems, including attachment insecurity (Lang & Gartsetein, 2018). However, less is known about how caregivers’ ability to discuss trauma may be associated with both their own and their children’s adaptation. The present study examined caregivers’ (HPA) response to a lab-based trauma interview. We predicted that, after controlling for trauma exposure, caregivers who display less cortisol reactivity and greater recovery from a trauma interview would have adolescents with more secure attachment. Method: Participants were from a longitudinal study examining risk factors in an economically-disadvantaged population. For this study, participants included 125 adolescents (Mage (SD)=14.08(0.67) years old; 50.6% female) and their caregivers (Mage (SD)=40.55 (8.27) years old). Caregivers were administered the Stressful Life Events Screening Questionnaire (SLESQ; Goodman et al., 1998) to assess lifetime exposure to trauma at the beginning of the lab visit. Approximately 14% of caregivers reported no traumatic lifetime events, 16.2% reported one event, 19.1% reported two events, 15.6% reported three events, and 35.2% reported four or more lifetime traumatic events. Adolescents identified as African-American (76.6%), followed by Caucasian (21%) or “other” (2.4%). Adolescent attachment was assessed using the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; George et al., 2006). Each adolescent received a dimensional score for secure attachment (M (SD)=-0.29(0.53)), with higher values indicating more secure states of mind. Caregivers’ salivary samples were taken at five separate time points. The (T1) sample was taken at the beginning of the lab visit, which was immediately followed by the SLESQ. Four remaining salivary samples were collected following the SLESQ (T2), and over the two-hour laboratory visit (T3-T5). Data Analytic Plan: Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM; Raudenbush & Bryk, 2002) specified growth models of caregivers’ cortisol response. First, a level-1 model specified caregivers’ cortisol level at T2 (intercept), rate of change at T2 (linear component) and overall curvilinear pattern of change across the five time points (quadratic term). A level-2 model was used to test the moderators of caregiver’s cortisol response to the trauma interview. Moderators included controls for trauma exposure, caregiver age, and laboratory start time as well as adolescent attachment security. Results: Results indicated that caregivers’ trauma exposure was associated with cortisol levels during the SLESQ interview (B(SE)=-0.05(0.12), p=0.006), with more trauma exposure relating to less cortisol secretion. Adolescent security was associated with lower caregiver cortisol levels during the SLESQ (e.g. intercept), deceleration of cortisol during the SLESQ, and faster decline of caregiver cortisol levels across the five time points (see Table 1). Conclusions: Findings suggest that caregivers’ cortisol reactivity and recovery from a trauma interview is associated with their adolescents’ secure states of mind in the AAI. Specifically, caregivers who were less reactive to the interview and who showed greater recovery were more like to have adolescents with secure states of mind. Implications of these results, as well as recommendations for future research directions will be discussed.

Authors

• Nadia Bounoua, University of Delaware
  Presenting Author

• Abigail Zisk, University of Delaware
  Non-Presenting Author

• Caroline Abbott, University of Delaware
  Non-Presenting Author

• Roger Kobak, University of Delaware
  Non-Presenting Author