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Dismissing child attachment and discordance for subjective and neuroendocrine responses to vulnerability
Author(s) -
Borelli Jessica L.,
West Jessica L.,
Weekes Nicole Y.,
Crowley Michael J.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/dev.21107
Subject(s) - vulnerability (computing) , psychology , developmental psychology , computer security , computer science
Emerging evidence suggests that as with adults, dismissing children underreport their psychological distress relative to physiological indicators of their experience (startle response, neural signals). In this report, we extend these observations to neuroendocrine reactivity. One hundred and six 8–12‐year‐old children completed the Child Attachment Interview and a computer‐based paradigm comprised of vignettes reflecting vulnerability in interpersonal contexts. Dismissing children's cortisol responses remained comparable from pre‐to‐post paradigm, while secure children's cortisol responses decreased from pre‐to‐post paradigm. Furthermore, compared to secure children, dismissing children reported less distress than their cortisol response would suggest. Implications for dismissing children's coping and self‐regulation are discussed. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc . Dev Psychobiol 56: 584–591, 2014.