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Five-year-olds' cortisol reactions to an attachment story completion task
Sanny Smeekens1, J Marianne Riksen-Walraven, Hedwig J A Van Bakel
1Department of Developmental Psychology - Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Montessorilaan 3, PO Box 9104, 6500 HE, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. s.smeekens@psych.ru.nl
Psychoneuroendocrinology
|December 18, 2009
Summary
Playing insecure stories triggered cortisol increases in children only if they had recent negative parent-child interactions. This suggests emotional memories, not the stories themselves, cause physiological arousal in children.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Child Psychology
- Stress Physiology
Background:
- Negative parent-child interactions are known to increase cortisol levels in children.
- Previous research indicates a link between parent-child interactions and physiological stress responses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if simulated parent-child interactions, using dolls and story completion, elicit cortisol increases in children.
- To explore the role of attachment security and prior negative interactions in this response.
Main Methods:
- An attachment story completion task was administered to 89 five-year-old children.
- Saliva samples were collected at baseline, pre-task, and post-task to measure cortisol levels.
- Hierarchical regression analysis examined the relationship between story content, prior interactions, and cortisol changes.
Main Results:
- Children who told insecure stories (depicting unavailable, unsupportive, or hostile parents) showed greater cortisol increases, but only if they had experienced negative parent-child interactions recently.
- No cortisol increases were observed in children playing insecure stories if they had not experienced recent negative interactions.
- Secure attachment to one parent might buffer negative effects from low-quality interactions with another parent.
Conclusions:
- Cortisol increases during insecure story play appear linked to triggered emotional memories of negative parent-child interactions, rather than the act of storytelling itself.
- Negative parent-child interactions have a significant impact on children's physiological arousal and regulation.
- Attachment security may play a buffering role, warranting further investigation.
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