Social hierarchy and adrenocortical stress reactivity in men
- 1 November 1997
- journal article
- clinical trial
- Published by Elsevier BV in Psychoneuroendocrinology
- Vol. 22 (8), 643-650
- https://doi.org/10.1016/s0306-4530(97)00063-2
Abstract
Baseline and stress induced salivary cortisol levels were investigated in 63 army recruits at the beginning and the end of six week boot camp training. At the beginning of the training, the recruits were randomly distributed to nine groups, and weekly measurements of the social hierarchy within each group were obtained. Independent of the social position, baseline levels increased over the first weeks of the training period. Under experimental psychological stress, salivary cortisol levels highly increased in socially dominant subjects (14.0 nmol/l), while only a modest elevation was observed in subordinate men (2.9 nmol/l). Similar differences in response patterns were observed under physical stress. At the end of the training, blunted cortisol responses were observed to both psychological and physical stress. The data suggest a close relationship between social status and pituitary-adrenal responsiveness to psychological stress in men.Keywords
This publication has 5 references indexed in Scilit:
- Sex-Specific Effects of Social Support on Cortisol and Subjective Responses to Acute Psychological StressPsychosomatic Medicine, 1995
- The ‘Trier Social Stress Test’ – A Tool for Investigating Psychobiological Stress Responses in a Laboratory SettingNeuropsychobiology, 1993
- Synthesis of a cortisol-biotin conjugate and evaluation as a tracer in an immunoassay for salivary cortisol measurementThe Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 1992
- Social Factors and Psychopathology: Stress, Social Support, and Coping ProcessesAnnual Review of Psychology, 1991
- The Effect of Recent Life Events Stress, Life Assets, and Temperament Pattern on Cardiovascular Risk Factors for Akron City Police OfficersJournal of Human Stress, 1986