Maternal Cortisol Levels and Behavior Problems in Adolescents and Adults with ASD
- 5 November 2009
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
- Vol. 40 (4), 457-469
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-009-0887-0
Abstract
Using daily diary methods, mothers of adolescents and adults with ASD (n = 86) were contrasted with a nationally representative comparison group of mothers of similarly-aged unaffected children (n = 171) with respect to the diurnal rhythm of cortisol. Mothers of adolescents and adults with ASD were found to have significantly lower levels of cortisol throughout the day. Within the ASD sample, the son or daughter’s history of behavior problems interacted with daily behavior problems to predict the morning rise of the mother’s cortisol. A history of elevated behavior problems moderated the effect of behavior problems the day before on maternal cortisol level. Implications for interventions for both the mother and the individual with ASD are suggested.Keywords
This publication has 44 references indexed in Scilit:
- Assessing Daily Stress Processes in Social Surveys by Combining Stressor Exposure and Salivary CortisolBiodemography and Social Biology, 2009
- Daily Experiences Among Mothers of Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum DisorderJournal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2009
- Comparing cortisol, stress, and sensory sensitivity in children with autismAutism Research, 2009
- Configural Cue Performance in Identical Twins Discordant for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Theoretical Implications for the Role of Hippocampal FunctionBiological Psychiatry, 2007
- Change in Autism Symptoms and Maladaptive Behaviors in Adolescents and Adults with an Autism Spectrum DisorderJournal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2006
- Day-to-day dynamics of experience–cortisol associations in a population-based sample of older adultsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2006
- Evolution and ontogeny of stress response to social challenges in the human childDevelopmental Review, 2006
- Socioeconomic Status Is Associated With Stress HormonesPsychosomatic Medicine, 2006
- Syndrome specificity and behavioural disorders in young adults with intellectual disability: cultural differences in family impactJournal of Intellectual Disability Research, 2005
- Chronic psychological stress and the regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines: A glucocorticoid-resistance model.Health Psychology, 2002