Demographic factors, temperament and the quality of the preschool environment as predictors of daily cortisol changes among Finnish six-year-old children

Sajaniemi, Nina; Suhonen, Eira; Hotulainen, Risto; Törmänen, Minna; Alijoki, Alisa; Nislin, Mari Anneli; Kontu, Elina

doi:10.1080/1350293x.2013.783303

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 57 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…We found the existence of the Preschool Effect on three cortisol measures in autumn and in one cortisol measure in spring; moreover, there was a day care centre effect on attention. We did not measure the quality of the learning environment in this study, but earlier findings suggest that the pre-school environment is challenging for some children and may have a negative effect on their stress regulation [38,42,43]. In our previous studies, we found that high quality day care was correlated with lower levels of measured cortisol on afternoon, comparable to Pre-school measure in this study.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 47%

“…The first effect findings indicate that those children whose cortisol level is the lowest either on Pre-school effect time or alternatively on Home effect time have higher attention. It seems that in autumn when pre-school in the Finnish day-care system addresses for the first time in children's life for school-like behaviour the quality of preschool has more effect on causing lower cortisol level [38]. Such association was not present in the spring time, but in turn between attention and Home effect.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Changes and Stability in Daily Cortisol Values and Their Correlation to Attention Measured In a Prolonged Working Task among Finnish Six-Year-Old Day-Care Children

2014

J Child Adolesc Behav

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Recently, there has been growing interest in studying stress reactivity in children which is usually accomplished by detecting atypical daily patterns of salivary cortisol. It is assumed that chronic high or low levels of stress hormones are detrimental to attentional performance, a behaviour strongly suggested to be at the core of learning. In the present study, we firstly examined the stability of daily changes in the stress hormone, cortisol. The levels of cortisol were measured five times per day, during one day in autumn and one day in spring. The second aim of our study was to explore whether attention measured in prolonged working tasks was associated with daily cortisol change. Three day care centres in Metropolitan Helsinki, Finland participated in this study and 59 6-year-old preschool children (24 girls, 35 boys) comprised the study sample. The results revealed that the children's daily cortisol variation-in particular, from morning to pre-school and from morning to evening show stability-and this stability was detectable over a six-month period. Children who had lower daily variation in cortisol values in both autumn and spring demonstrated poorer attention. We discuss possible explanations for these findings and implications for early identification.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 47%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Changes and Stability in Daily Cortisol Values and Their Correlation to Attention Measured In a Prolonged Working Task among Finnish Six-Year-Old Day-Care Children

2014

J Child Adolesc Behav

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Combining alpha-amylase measurement (from the same saliva samples), an indicator of sympathetic-adrenal-medullary axis functioning, with the cortisol measurement provides a more complete picture of stress regulation [ 27 ]. We have previously demonstrated that we are able to conduct data collection, and measure reliably children’s stress regulation at the preschool and at family settings [ 28 - 31 ]. Further, we will utilize the data collection procedure used in the study by Vermeer et al [ 32 ] to study more precisely the variation in the salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase levels during the preschool day [ 32 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased health and well-being in preschools (DAGIS): rationale and design for a randomized controlled trial

et al. 2015

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundEffective interventions that target socioeconomic status (SES) differences to avoid the potential widening of inequalities in health are needed. Children at preschool age is a valuable intervention target since sedentary behaviors, physical activity (PA), dietary behaviors, and sleep habits, jointly called the energy balance-related behaviors (EBRBs), are established in early childhood and tend to persist later in life. The interventions are most effective, when they focus on evidence-based factors. One potential factor associated with EBRBs and SES is children’s stress regulation, which receives special attention in this study. Based on the socioecological approach, the combinations of multiple levels (e.g. individual, environmental, societal) of analysis and diverse methodologies (e.g. surveys, observations, biological measurements) are used to assess the healthfulness of environments (e.g. social, physical, learning, policy) in preschool and family settings. The intervention aimed to diminish SES differences in EBRBs is then conducted in the preschool setting.Methods/designThe DAGIS study is divided into two phases. The first phase comprises focus group interviews and a cross-sectional survey. Parents and preschool personnel in low SES neighborhoods participated in interviews about children’s sedentary behaviors, dietary behaviors, and PA in 2014. In the cross-sectional survey beginning in autumn 2015, preschools will be recruited from a random sample of preschools in 3–5 municipalities in Southern Finland. A total of 800 children will wear an accelerometer for seven days. Children’s hair and saliva samples will be taken. Parents and preschool personnel will complete questionnaires on EBRBs, social and physical environments and SES factors. The quality of preschool environment is also observed. In the second phase, an intervention targeting to narrowing SES differences in EBRBs is conducted. The effects of the intervention will be evaluated in randomised controlled trial. The implementation of the intervention will also be evaluated.ConclusionIf effective, this unique preschool-based study will be able to narrow the SES differences in preschool children’s EBRBs. This study is anticipated to identify the most important modifiable factors in preschool and family environmental settings associated with children’s EBRBs, especially in children from low SES backgrounds.Trial registrationISRCTN57165350 (January, 8th, 2015).

show abstract

The Influence of Teacher–Child Relationships on Preschool Children’s Cortisol Levels

Hatfield

2019

Emerging Issues in Family and Individual Resilience

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Demographic factors, temperament and the quality of the preschool environment as predictors of daily cortisol changes among Finnish six-year-old children

Abstract: 2014) Demographic factors, temperament and the quality of the preschool environment as predictors of daily cortisol changes among Finnish six-yearold children,

Cited by 7 publications

References 57 publications

Changes and Stability in Daily Cortisol Values and Their Correlation to Attention Measured In a Prolonged Working Task among Finnish Six-Year-Old Day-Care Children

Changes and Stability in Daily Cortisol Values and Their Correlation to Attention Measured In a Prolonged Working Task among Finnish Six-Year-Old Day-Care Children

Increased health and well-being in preschools (DAGIS): rationale and design for a randomized controlled trial

The Influence of Teacher–Child Relationships on Preschool Children’s Cortisol Levels

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About