Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 25, 2026

A Modified Trier Social Stress Test for Vulnerable Mexican American Adolescents
Published on: July 10, 2017
Stress and puberty-related hormone reactivity, negative emotionality, and parent--adolescent relationships
Kristine Marceau1, Lorah D Dorn, Elizabeth J Susman
1The Pennsylvania State University, United States. Kpm170@psu.edu
Abstract:
Hormone reactivity to stressors and hormones that rapidly change at puberty are hypothesized to influence moods, which may in turn affect parent-child relationship quality. The present study investigated whether reactivity of testosterone, DHEA, and cortisol in a clinic setting (venipuncture paradigm) predicted negative emotionality and family problems at Time 1 (0 months), Time 2 (6 months), and Time 3 (12 months) in a sample of 56 boys (M = 12.72, SD = 1.32 years) and 52 girls (M = 11.99, SD = 1.55 years). Reactivity of each hormone, negative emotionality, and family problems were measured at each of three laboratory visits. Testosterone reactivity at the first assessment predicted family problems one year later. DHEA stress reactivity was related to concurrent negative emotionality at six and 12 months. Cortisol reactivity did not predict negative emotionality or family problems. Reactivity of different hormones that change at puberty may play an important role in adolescent moods and family processes during puberty.
Related Concept Videos
Socioemotional Development during Infancy
Primary Temperament Types
Stella Chess...
Sources of Self-Esteem I: Family Experience
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification
Influence of Parents and Peers on Identity
Parental Influence on Identity Development
Parents serve as primary guides and managers in an adolescent's life, offering support instrumental in decision-making and personal growth. This guiding role...
Psychological Responses to Stress
Socioemotional Experience and Gender Development

