Attachment security buffers the HPA axis of toddlers growing up in poverty or near poverty: Assessment during pediatric well-child exams with inoculations

Identifying pathways from early adversity to psychopathology: A review on dysregulated HPA axis functioning and impaired self-regulation in early childhood

“…Consistent with the hypothesis that chronic stress can lead to hyper-and hypoactivation of the HPA axis, both cortisol patterns were associated with family instability and poverty. As variations in the association between contextual adversity and HPA axis activity likely relate to other factors such as parental behaviour (Johnson et al, 2018), more research on potential differential effects of positive parenting, such as warmth and responsiveness, and negative parenting, such as harshness and hostility, could shed light on the pattern the child's HPA axis may adopt.…”

Parental buffering in the context of poverty: positive parenting behaviors differentiate young children's stress reactivity profiles

“…As mentioned previously, the sample included a large age range which made the use of attachment measures inappropriate; however, future studies would benefit from including measures of attachment. One recent study that examined attachment security among toddlers found that attachment moderated the relation between poverty and HPA axis functioning (Johnson et al, 2018), thereby highlighting the importance of both attachment and parenting behaviors in shaping children's early physiological development in the context of adversity. Moreover, further longitudinal research is needed to evaluate whether differences in attachment and parenting behaviors at two or more time points might result in differential stress reactivity to challenge, and of course pressingly whether supportive intervention that improves positive parenting can also reduce subsequent child stress reactivity.…”

“…However, to our knowledge, very few studies to date have examined whether differences in parenting behaviors among families experiencing poverty are related to differences in HPA axis engagement to a challenge. A key exception is work conducted by Gunnar and colleagues which reports parental buffering of cortisol reactivity to immunizations, and only among families experiencing low income (Johnson et al, 2018).…”

“…To date, several articles examine the association between positive parenting and children's HPA axis functioning (i.e., Berry, Blair, Willoughby, Granger, & Mills-Koonce, 2017; Hibel, Granger, Blair, Cox, & The Family Life Project Key Investigators, 2011; Hostinar, Johnson, & Gunnar, 2015). Collectively, lower stress reactivity was observed in the presence of maternal sensitivity and/or secure attachment across varied contexts of experienced adversity such as exposure to poverty (Berry et al, 2017; Johnson, Mliner, Depasquale, Troy, & Gunnar, 2018), intimate partner violence (Hibel et al, 2011), as well as early institutionalization (Hostinar et al, 2015). One especially relevant article conducted by Johnson et al (2018) found that attachment was a significant moderator of the association between poverty and HPA axis activity.…”

“…Collectively, lower stress reactivity was observed in the presence of maternal sensitivity and/or secure attachment across varied contexts of experienced adversity such as exposure to poverty (Berry et al, 2017; Johnson, Mliner, Depasquale, Troy, & Gunnar, 2018), intimate partner violence (Hibel et al, 2011), as well as early institutionalization (Hostinar et al, 2015). One especially relevant article conducted by Johnson et al (2018) found that attachment was a significant moderator of the association between poverty and HPA axis activity. Specifically, securely attached low-income children had significantly lower cortisol reactivity to pediatric inoculations as compared to their insecurely attached counterparts.…”