Foster Children’s Diurnal Production of Cortisol: An Exploratory Study

• Published in: Child maltreatment Vol. 11; no. 2; pp. 189 - 197
• Main Authors: Dozier, Mary, Manni, Melissa, Gordon, M. Kathleen, Peloso, Elizabeth, Gunnar, Megan R., Stovall-McClough, K. Chase, Eldreth, Diana, Levine, Seymour
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thousand Oaks, CA Sage Publications 01-05-2006; Sage; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Caregivers; Child Development; Child, Preschool; Circadian Rhythm - physiology; Cortisol; Endocrine system; Female; Foster care; Foster children; Foster Home Care - psychology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Hydrocortisone - analysis; Hydrocortisone - secretion; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System; Infant; Male; Personality. Affectivity; Pituitary-Adrenal System; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Saliva - chemistry; Steroids; Stress; Young Children; early experience; stress neurobiology; early experience and glucocorticoids; and prevention science; Human; Preschool age; Corticosteroid; Separation; Hypothalamohypophysoadrenal axis; Steroid hormone; Antiinflammatory agent; Infant; Foster care placement; Hydrocortisone; Glucocorticoid; Stress; Parent child relation; Social interaction; Adrenal hormone; Family environment; Child
• ISSN: 1077-5595; 1552-6119
• DOI: 10.1177/1077559505285779

Young children in foster care have often experienced inadequate early care and separations from caregivers. Preclinical studies suggest that early inadequate care and separations are associated with long-term changes in regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. In this study, the daytime pattern of cortisol production was examined among 55 young children who had been placed into foster care and 104 children who had not. Saliva samples were taken at wake-up, in the afternoon, and bedtime for 2 days. Average salivary cortisol values for each time of day were computed. A group (foster vs. comparison) time (morning, afternoon, night) interaction emerged, reflecting less decline in levels across the day for foster than comparison children. Daytime patterns were categorized as typical, low, or high. Children who had been in foster care had higher incidences of atypical patterns of cortisol production than children who had not. These differences suggest that conditions associated with foster care interfere with children’s ability to regulate neuroendocrine functioning.