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Children's context inappropriate anger and salivary cortisol
Robin L Locke1, Richard J Davidson, Ned H Kalin
1Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 285 Old Westport Road, North Dartmouth, MA 02747-2300, USA. rlocke@umassd.edu
Developmental Psychology
|August 26, 2009
Summary
Context inappropriate (CI) anger in children predicts lower cortisol levels, particularly in boys. This finding offers new insights into children's affective styles and stress responses.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Child Psychiatry
- Neuroendocrinology
Background:
- Children's emotional responses can sometimes be inconsistent with situational context, termed context inappropriate (CI) emotion.
- Understanding the physiological correlates of such emotional expressions is crucial for developmental research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between context inappropriate (CI) anger and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity in children.
- To determine if CI anger predicts unique variations in salivary cortisol levels.
Main Methods:
- Individual growth curve modeling and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were employed.
- Salivary cortisol measures were used to assess HPA axis activity.
- 360 children aged 6-10 years participated, with specific attention to CI anger expression in positive affect contexts.
Main Results:
- Approximately 23% of children exhibited at least one instance of CI anger in positive situations.
- CI anger was associated with significantly lower cortisol levels compared to context-appropriate anger.
- Specifically, boys' CI anger predicted lower morning cortisol and a flatter cortisol slope over time.
Conclusions:
- Context inappropriate anger in children is linked to distinct patterns of HPA axis activity.
- These findings suggest that CI anger may serve as an indicator of underlying affective style and stress regulation differences.
- The study highlights the importance of considering contextual appropriateness in the study of children's emotional development and physiological responses.
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