Young children in foster care have often experienced inadequate early care and separations from caregivers. Preclinical studies suggest that early inadequate care and separations are associated with long-term changes in regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. In this study, the daytime pattern of cortisol production was examined among 55 young children who had been placed into foster care and 104 children who had not. Saliva samples were taken at wake-up, in the afternoon, and bedtime for 2 days. Average salivary cortisol values for each time of day were computed. A group (foster vs. comparison) time (morning, afternoon, night) interaction emerged, reflecting less decline in levels across the day for foster than comparison children. Daytime patterns were categorized as typical, low, or high. Children who had been in foster care had higher incidences of atypical patterns of cortisol production than children who had not. These differences suggest that conditions associated with foster care interfere with children's ability to regulate neuroendocrine functioning.

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Exposure to chronic or severe acute stressors throughout the lifespan has been linked with numerous negative behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and physical consequences. Adolescence is considered to be a particularly vulnerable period given that the brain is experiencing dramatic developmental change during this time. The present study examined a sample of adolescents (N = 125) considered to be at high risk for stress exposures and drug use by virtue of their environment and low income levels to identify possible neurocognitive (i.e., impulsivity, delay of gratification, emotional perception, and risky decision-making) and social competency mechanisms that may mediate this relationship. Using Mplus, a mediational model was tested using full information maximum likelihood estimates. Risky decision-making and poor social competency skills were related to previous stressful experiences; however, only social competencies mediated the effect of stressors on reports of past year marijuana, alcohol, and polydrug use. As such, stress appears to exert its negative impact through alterations in abilities to generate and execute prosocial decisions and behaviors. Interventions that directly address the effects of stress on social competencies may be especially important for children who have experienced adversity including those exposed to parental divorce, parental psychopathology, neglect or abuse, parental death, and poverty.

In this study the authors compared the performance of abstinent drug abusers (n = 21) and nonuser control participants (n = 20) in neurocognitive and emotional functions by use of the Rogers Decision Making Task, Gambling Task, Emotional Stroop, impulsivity continuous performance task (CPT), and vigilance CPT. Skin conductance (SC) and heart rate (HR) monitoring was synchronized with task performance. Groups showed similar performance for vigilance, impulsivity, and emotional interference; however, drug abusers showed stronger SC responses. Drug abusers performed more poorly on the Gambling and Rogers Decision Making Tasks. When making risky decisions, drug abusers showed significantly less increase in SC activity than controls and exhibited lower HRs throughout performance on all tasks. In conclusion, complex tasks involving decision making, sensitivity to consequences, and emotional regulation discriminated between drug abusers and controls.