Positive and negative affect and arousal: cross-sectional and longitudinal associations with adolescent cortisol diurnal rhythms.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Psychobiological research with adolescent populations tends to focus on negative mood, stress, and psychopathology, but the role of positive emotions is insufficiently understood. The current study examines the relative contributions of both negative and positive affective experiences to the basal activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, measured by levels of cortisol across the waking day.

Methods

A sample of 315 ethnically and racially diverse high school students (mean age = 17.1 years, 73% female) completed a multiple-day naturalistic salivary cortisol protocol twice over a 5-year period. Along with each saliva sample, youth provided diary reports of their current mood states. Principal components analysis revealed four factors: high arousal positi

SUBMITTER: Hoyt LT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4431930 | biostudies-literature | 2015 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature