Child temperament and parental depression predict cortisol reactivity to stress in middle childhood.

Abstract

Children's cortisol reactivity to stress is an important mediator of depression risk, making the search for predictors of such reactivity an important goal for psychopathologists. Multiple studies have linked maternal depression and childhood behavioral inhibition (BI) independently to child cortisol reactivity, yet few have tested multivariate models of these risks. Further, paternal depression and other child temperament traits, such as positive emotionality (PE), have been largely ignored despite their potential relevance. We therefore examined longitudinal associations between child fear/BI and PE and parental depression, and children's cortisol stress reactivity, in 205 7-year-olds. Paternal depression and child fear/BI predicted greater cortisol stress reactivity at a follow-up of 164 9-year-olds, and maternal depression and child PE interacted to predict children's cortisol reactivity, such that higher child PE predicted lower cortisol reactivity in the context of maternal depression. Results highlight the importance of both parents' depression, as well as multiple facets of child temperament, in developing more comprehensive models of childhood cortisol reactivity to stress.

Depression from childhood through adolescence: risk mechanisms across multiple systems and levels of analysis

“…Additionally, candidate genes relevant for stress susceptibility (e.g., FKPB5, CRHR1 ) interact with ACE to predict cortisol reactivity in adolescence (42, 43). Parents’ depression and various aspects of child temperament predicted longitudinal cortisol reactivity in middle childhood (44). Cortisol reactivity exhibits moderate trait-like stability over time, and particular genetic variants for stress susceptibility, especially 5- HTTLPR and CRHR1 , predict greater cortisol stability (45).…”

Gut microbiome composition is associated with temperament during early childhood

“…Parental as well as direct observational ratings of temperament in early childhood predict personality, behavior, and risk for psychopathology in later childhood, adolescence, and adulthood (Rothbart and Posner, 2006). In addition, temperament has been linked to differences in functioning of the HPA axis (Dougherty et al, 2013; Mackrell et al, 2014) as well as autonomic nervous system (Brooker and Buss, 2010; Huffman et al, 1998; Stifter and Fox, 1990), providing a plausible basis by which individual differences in temperament may be mechanistically linked to the gut microbiome.…”

A longitudinal investigation of predictors of the association between age 3 and age 6 behavioural inhibition

“…Also relevant is the small literature indicating that high PE buffers the impact of other vulnerabilities to negative outcomes (Clark, 2005; Mackrell et al, 2014; Park, Belsky, Putnam, & Crnic, 1997; Tugade & Fredrickson, 2004; Wichers et al, 2007; see Davis & Suveg, 2014 for a comprehensive review). For example, Mackrell et al (2014) found that high PE in children interacted with maternal depression to predict lower cortisol stress reactivity in children, and Wichers et al (2007) found that high positive affect buffered negative affect reactivity to stress.…”