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Cortisol and vagal tone responses to competitive challenge in preschoolers: associations with temperament

B Donzella1, M R Gunnar, W K Krueger

  • 1Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, 51 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.

Developmental Psychobiology
|November 21, 2000
PubMed

Insights

Extroverted children show increased stress responses during competition. Surgency in young children correlates with negative affect and physiological stress markers when facing competitive challenges.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Child Temperament
  • Stress and Coping

Background:

  • Understanding child temperament's role in stress responses is crucial for developmental research.
  • Competition can elicit significant emotional and physiological reactions in young children.
  • Previous research highlights the influence of personality traits on stress vulnerability.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between child temperament and stress responses during a competitive task.
  • To examine physiological (salivary cortisol, vagal tone) and behavioral (affect, turn-taking) stress indicators.
  • To identify specific temperamental traits associated with heightened vulnerability to competition stress.

Main Methods:

  • Sixty-one 3- to 5-year-old children participated in a controlled competition task with alternating win/loss periods.
  • Measures included salivary cortisol, vagal tone, observed affect, and turn-taking behavior.
  • Child temperament was assessed using the teacher-report Child Behavior Questionnaire.

Main Results:

  • Surgency (extroversion) correlated with positive affect during wins and negative affect during losses.
  • Vagal tone decreased during competition, particularly in children exhibiting tense/angry affect.
  • A subset of children (15%) showed cortisol increases, characterized by high surgency, low effortful control, and predominantly male, with higher tense/angry affect during losses.

Conclusions:

  • Surgent, extroverted children appear more vulnerable to the stress of competition.
  • Temperament significantly modulates physiological and affective responses to competitive challenges.
  • Effortful control may act as a protective factor against competition-induced stress in surgent children.

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