Open AccessRelationship of Salivary Alpha Amylase and Cortisol to Social Anxiety in Healthy Children Undergoing Laboratory Pain Tasks
Author(s) -
Laura A Payne,
Leah C. Hibel,
Douglas A. Granger,
Jennie C.I. Tsao,
Lonnie K. Zeltzer
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of child and adolescent behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2375-4494
DOI - 10.4172/jcalb.1000129
Subject(s) - stressor , anxiety , psychology , saliva , clinical psychology , social stress , social anxiety , developmental psychology , medicine , psychiatry
Salivary alpha amylase (sAA) has been shown to be a sensitive and reliable marker of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) response to stress. A link between sAA, cortisol, and social/evaluative stress has been established in youth, but little is known about these relationships in response to other stressors in children, and how social anxiety might moderate these relationships. The current study explored the associations among sAA and salivary cortisol responses to laboratory pain tasks and self-reported social anxiety symptoms in a sample of healthy children.