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Stigma Consciousness Modulates Cortisol Reactivity to Social Stress in Women.

ABSTRACT: The aim of the current study was to examine whether stigma consciousness shapes cortisol responses to social stress among women in the lab. Undergraduate women (N = 45) completed background measures and then participated in a public speaking task, with assessments of cortisol prior to the stressor as well as 20- and 40-minutes post stressor onset. Results from multilevel models revealed that women higher in stigma consciousness evidenced blunted cortisol reactivity following social stress across the study session compared to women lower in stigma consciousness. This interaction was robust to adjustment for a number of covariates, including demographic (e.g., age), physiological (e.g., menstrual cycle) and psychological (e.g., depressive symptomatology) factors. Potential explanations for observed cortisol patterns are discussed, including hypo-reactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and elevated anticipatory stress. To conclude, implications for health disparities research are considered.

SUBMITTER: Doyle DM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5945208 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Stigma Consciousness Modulates Cortisol Reactivity to Social Stress in Women.

Doyle David Matthew DM Molix Lisa L

European journal of social psychology 20170524 2

The aim of the current study was to examine whether stigma consciousness shapes cortisol responses to social stress among women in the lab. Undergraduate women (<i>N</i> = 45) completed background measures and then participated in a public speaking task, with assessments of cortisol prior to the stressor as well as 20- and 40-minutes post stressor onset. Results from multilevel models revealed that women higher in stigma consciousness evidenced blunted cortisol reactivity following social stress ...[more]

PMID: 29755146

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Project description:Physical activity is associated with a favourable (blunted) cortisol stress reactivity in healthy people. However, evidence from experimental study and with psychiatric patients is missing. This study examines whether exercise training impacts on cortisol stress reactivity in inpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD). These new insights are important because the stress reactivity of healthy people and patients with severe symptoms of depression might differ. Methods: The study was designed as a randomized controlled trial (trial registration number: NCT02679053). In total, 25 patients (13 women, 12 men, mean age: 38.1 12.0 years) completed a laboratory stressor task before and after a six-week intervention period. Nine samples of salivary free cortisol were taken before and after the Trier social stress test (TSST). Fourteen participants took part in six weeks of aerobic exercise training, while 11 patients were allocated to the control condition. While the primary outcome of the study was depressive symptom severity, the focus of this paper is on one of the secondary outcomes (cortisol reactivity during the TSST). The impact of aerobic exercise training was examined with a repeated-measures analysis of variance. We also examined the association between change in depression and cortisol response via correlational analysis. Cortisol reactivity did not change from baseline to post-intervention, either in the intervention or the control group. Participation in six weeks of aerobic exercise training was not associated with participants' cortisol reactivity. Moreover, depressive symptom change was not associated with change in cortisol response. Aerobic exercise training was not associated with patients' stress reactivity in this study. Because many patients initially showed a relatively flat/blunted cortisol response curve, efforts might be needed to find out which treatments are most efficient to promote a normalization of HPA axis reactivity.

Dataset Information

Stigma Consciousness Modulates Cortisol Reactivity to Social Stress in Women.

Publications

Stigma Consciousness Modulates Cortisol Reactivity to Social Stress in Women.

Similar Datasets

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