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Social Behavior Correlates of Cortisol Activity in Child Care: Gender Differences and Time‐of‐Day Effects
Author(s) -
Tout Kathryn,
Haan Michelle,
Campbell Elizabeth Kipp,
Gunnar Megan R.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1998.tb06209.x
Subject(s) - psychology , circadian rhythm , morning , developmental psychology , quartile , social relation , cortisol awakening response , hydrocortisone , clinical psychology , endocrinology , medicine , social psychology , confidence interval , neuroscience
The relations between social behavior and daily patterns of a stress‐sensitive hormone production were examined in preschool children ( N = 75) attending center‐based child care. Three behavioral dimensions, shy/anxious/internalizing, angry/aggressive/externalizing, and social competence, were assessed by teacher report and classroom observation, and their relations with 2 measures of Cortisol activity, median (or typical) levels and reactivity (quartile range score between second and third quartile values) were explored. Cortisol‐behavior relations differed by gender: significant associations were found for boys but not for girls. Specifically, for boys externalizing behavior was positively associated with Cortisol reactivity, while internalizing behavior was negatively associated with median Cortisol. Time of day of Cortisol measurement affected the results. Surprisingly, median Cortisol levels rose from morning to afternoon, a pattern opposite to that of the typical circadian rhythm of Cortisol. This rise in Cortisol over the day was positively correlated with internalizing behavior for boys. The methodological and theoretical implications of these findings for the study of the development of hormone‐behavior relations are discussed.