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Effects of perceived control and cognitive coping on endocrine stress responses to pharmacological activation.

ABSTRACT: The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis may mediate negative health effects of stress. It is sensitive to cognitive/emotional factors like novelty, perceived control, and coping. Psychological intervention that reduces novelty and enhances cognitive coping and sense of control can reduce cortisol responses to pentagastrin, a pharmacological HPA activator. This study attempted to identify the core factors that modulate HPA axis activity in this model.Varying instructions were administered prior to drug exposure in a two-visit (placebo first) pentagastrin infusion paradigm. Healthy subjects (n = 40) were randomly assigned to one of four instruction groups: 1) standard instruction (SI); 2) full cognitive intervention (CI); 3) the CI control component alone; or 4) the CI novelty reduction/coping components alone. Blood samples were obtained via intravenous catheter before and after pentagastrin.Subjects receiving an intervention had smaller cortisol responses than subjects receiving standard instructions. Coping alone had as strong an impact as the more complex intervention that combined coping and control. Control alone also reduced cortisol but its HPA impact appeared less robust.Brief psychological manipulation can significantly reduce HPA activation in challenge paradigms. Cognitive preparation that focused on side effects, reduced potential surprise, and enhanced cognitive coping modulated HPA axis activity as effectively as a previously tested intervention that combined coping and control manipulations. A sense of control alone also reduced cortisol release. The results support development of control or coping techniques to combat negative health effects of stress that are mediated by HPA axis activation.

SUBMITTER: Abelson JL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2579765 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Effects of perceived control and cognitive coping on endocrine stress responses to pharmacological activation.

Abelson James L JL Khan Samir S Liberzon Israel I Erickson Thane M TM Young Elizabeth A EA

Biological psychiatry 20080624 8

<h4>Background</h4>The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis may mediate negative health effects of stress. It is sensitive to cognitive/emotional factors like novelty, perceived control, and coping. Psychological intervention that reduces novelty and enhances cognitive coping and sense of control can reduce cortisol responses to pentagastrin, a pharmacological HPA activator. This study attempted to identify the core factors that modulate HPA axis activity in this model.<h4>Methods</h4>Varyi ...[more]

PMID: 18571624

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Project description:[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported online in Emotion on Sep 5 2019 (see record 2019-52812-001). In the article, two text call outs for figures are incorrect. At the end of the "Negative emotional responses" section under the "Psychological Stress Responses" heading, "(see Figure 7)" should have been deleted. Under the "Negative task-related ruminative thoughts" heading in that same section, "(see Figure 5)" in the first paragraph should be "(see Figure 7)."] Expressing emotions is a common strategy for coping with stress. Yet, little is known about the effects of using this strategy in close relationships, or when and for whom emotional expression is effective. This study examined romantic partner responsiveness and the dispositional tendency to use emotional approach coping (EAC; the processing and expression of emotions) as moderators of the effects of experimentally manipulated emotional expression on stress responses to a laboratory stressor. We brought couples (N = 145) to the lab and randomly assigned 1 partner (the participant) to perform a stressful task. We manipulated whether participants expressed their feelings about the task to their partner (expression vs. no-expression), and whether participants received supportive messages from their partners (as an indicator of partner responsiveness; support vs. no-support). We examined physiological stress responses (cortisol and salivary alpha-amylase [sAA]), negative emotional stress responses (anxiety and self-conscious emotions), and post-task ruminative thoughts. Participants high in EAC showed larger sAA and cortisol responses and reported more negative post-task ruminative thoughts after emotionally expressing to their partners, but partner support mitigated the effect on cortisol. Participants low in EAC showed smaller cortisol responses and reported less negative emotional responses and fewer negative post-task ruminative thoughts after emotionally expressing to their partners. Receiving partner support reduced negative emotional responses for people high in EAC, but increased negative emotional responses for those low in EAC. These results may help explain when and for whom emotional expression is an effective means of coping in the immediate context of a stressor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Project description:BackgroundFood insecurity can be harmful to pregnant women, as pregnancy is a challenging period with increased maternal nutritional requirements to ensure optimal fetal development and health of the mother. Whether food insecurity negatively affects maternal health may depend on how stressful pregnant women perceive this food insecurity to be and how strongly they believe they can cope with it. In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), pregnant women from smallholder households suffer from food insecurity due to post-harvest losses (PHL), i.e., loss of crops because of inadequate storage. An agricultural intervention that improves crop storage has been shown to reduce food insecurity. However, it remains to be determined whether this agricultural intervention (treatment) has an additional positive effect on pregnant women's perceived stress levels and coping abilities. This study examines whether pregnant women from treatment households experience lower perceived stress levels and higher perceived coping abilities compared to pregnant women from control housholds.Methods and findingsIn a randomized controlled trial (RCT), short message service (SMS)-based mobile phone surveys were conducted to assess the causal effect of a food security intervention (improved on-farm storage of maize) on perceived stress and coping in pregnant women from smallholder households. Pregnant women were identified through these monthly surveys by asking whether someone in their household was currently pregnant. The significant results revealed that pregnant women from treatment households experienced more perceived stress but better perceived coping abilities compared to pregnant women from control households. Uncertainty due to lack of experience, this might have contributed to the higher perceived stress, as the women could not easily judge the benefits and risks of the new storage technology. However, the technology itself is a tangible resource which might have empowered the pregnant women to counteract the effects of PHL and thus food insecurity.ConclusionOur findings indicate that pregnant women from treatment households had higher perceived coping abilities but experienced more perceived stress. More research is needed on how this technology impacts maternal mental health in a broader sense and whether biological mechanisms, such as epigenetics, may underlie this association.

Project description:BackgroundIndividuals differ in how they react to stress or trauma through different coping styles in which they may deal directly with a stressor by adopting approach coping styles or disengage with a stressor by utilizing avoidant coping styles. Avoidant coping styles have been linked to adverse outcomes including psychological distress, anxiety disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Recently, avoidance coping styles as measured by a subset of items on the Brief COPE were found to have a weak positive relationship with performance on a computer-based avatar task which is related to avoidant personality temperaments. This avatar task was developed as an alternative for paper and pencil self-report inventories for measuring avoidant tendencies based on possible response biases of avoidant individuals. In the current study, avoidance and approach coping styles as measured by the Brief Approach/Avoidance Coping Questionnaire (BACQ) were compared to avoidant coping as measured by the Brief COPE and performance on the avatar task. In addition to approach and avoidance coping, the BACQ also measures active avoidance coping (i.e., diversion) and passive avoidance coping (i.e., resignation and withdrawal). The relationships between approach and avoidance coping and performance on the avatar task were also analyzed with the outcome of perceived stress as measured by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS).MethodsOne hundred undergraduates voluntarily completed the BACQ, the Brief COPE, and the PSS. Participants also completed a computer-based task in which they guided an avatar through a series of social situations where they indicated how they would interact with or avoid interacting with strangers.ResultsApproach coping had a weak negative relationship to avoidance coping as measured by the BACQ and the Brief COPE. Performance on the avatar task had a moderate positive relationship with avoidance coping (diversion as well as resignation and withdrawal) as measured by the BACQ and a moderate negative relationship with approach coping as measured by the BACQ. A model including only approach, diversion, and resignation and withdrawal coping best predicted performance on the avatar task in a linear regression model. While resignation and withdrawal coping and diversion coping had moderate positive relationships to avatar task scores, only resignation and withdrawal had a strong positive relationship to perceived stress. A model than included only resignation and withdrawal coping best predicted perceived stress in a linear regression model. Overall, passive avoidant coping styles (i.e., resignation and withdrawal), but not active avoidant coping style (i.e., diversion), were related to perceived stress. These results support the continued study of multiple aspects of avoidant coping styles as well as the avatar task to increase our understanding of the maladaptive effects of excessive avoidance in the face of stress.

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Effects of perceived control and cognitive coping on endocrine stress responses to pharmacological activation.

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Effects of perceived control and cognitive coping on endocrine stress responses to pharmacological activation.

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