Biomarking Trait Resilience With Salivary Cortisol in Chinese Undergraduates

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the relationship between trait resilience and salivary cortisol in a group of Chinese undergraduates. The Chinese versions of the Brief Resilience Scale and a measure of optimism, the revised Life Orientation Test were administered to 49 Chinese undergraduates who provided self-collected saliva samples six times per day (immediately after waking; 0.5, 3, 6, and 12 h thereafter; and at bedtime) over 3 consecutive weekdays. The cortisol data were aggregated across the 3 days to examine the association between resilience and components of the diurnal rhythm of cortisol using multiple regression. The results showed that higher resilience was associated with a stronger cortisol response to awakening and a steeper diurnal decline in cortisol from waking to bedtime. Resilience was positively associated with cortisol output over the course of the day but this relationship was not significant (p = 0.065). This pattern of diurnal rhythm is consistent with that typically observed in better adjusted individuals. Generated by an intensive protocol with compliance objectively monitored, these findings clearly indicate the important role of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis in health and adjustment and contribute to the growing literature on resilience and cortisol in humans.

Psychological resilience and cortisol levels in adults: A systematic review

“…Basal morning serum cortisol levels were also found to be positively associated with resilience in the study conducted by Farina et al (2019) with active‐duty army soldiers, with higher morning cortisol concentrations being observed among more resilient subjects. Similar findings were reported by Lai et al (2020), who observed a positive (although not significant) correlation between resilience and cortisol area under the curve with respect to the ground (AUCg) response in a group of undergraduate students.…”

“…Lai et al, 2020 found both a stronger CAR and a steeper diurnal cortisol slopes (DS) among undergraduate students with higher levels of resilience. Similarly, O'Connor et al, 2021 observed a positive association between resilience and cortisol awakening response in adults with a history of suicidal ideation or attempt, finding lower levels of the former among those with a weaker total cortisol awakening response.…”

Relationship of Resilience Factors With Biopsychosocial Markers Using a Comprehensive Home Evaluation Kit for Depression and Suicide Risk: A Real-World Data Analysis

“…Here, repetitive stressful experiences can increase the allostatic load, causing HPA axis dysregulation, which in turn may lead to decreased resilience capacity. There are also reports that suggest that high resilience is associated with high AUCi in healthy individuals ( 34 ); such a relationship was also determined in this study ( Figure 4 ). Further studies are needed to evaluate whether an ACE individual with low resilience recovers CAR by enhancing resilience through psychosocial interventions, such as MBT.…”

“…The HPA axis dysfunction can be assessed by measuring cortisol indicators, such as post-awakening cortisol concentrations (area under the curve with respect to ground, AUCg) or cortisol awakening response (CAR or area under the curve with respect to increase, AUCi). Several studies have reported that high resilience is associated with elevated AUCg or AUCi, and these indices can be considered potential biomarkers ( 34 – 36 ). Since most resilience evaluations are assessed using a self-reported scale, the addition of an objective biomarker can help achieve a more scientific evaluation of protective factors.…”

“…It was also assumed that the same factors would be related to decreasing depressive symptoms in people with ACEs ( 30 , 40 , 41 ). Furthermore, AUCg was expected to be highly correlated with the resilience and the psychosocial factor associated with it and making it a potential biomarker ( 34 – 36 ).…”