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Cortisol and socioeconomic status in early childhood: A multidimensional assessment

Amanda R Tarullo1,2, Charu T Tuladhar1, Katie Kao3

  • 1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.

Development and Psychopathology
|January 11, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Low socioeconomic status impacts children's stress hormone levels. Factors like neighborhood risk and household chaos are key contributors to cortisol dysregulation in early childhood.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Endocrinology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is crucial for stress response and is sensitive to early life adversity.
  • Low socioeconomic status (SES) is linked to cortisol dysregulation in children, but the underlying mechanisms require further investigation.
  • A comprehensive understanding necessitates multidimensional assessments of both SES and cortisol in early childhood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between multidimensional socioeconomic status (SES) and cortisol levels in infants and young children.
  • To identify specific SES factors that predict chronic and diurnal cortisol measures.
  • To explore the role of parental sensitivity in mediating the SES-cortisol association.

Main Methods:

  • Assessed parent-reported SES including income, education, occupation, neighborhood risk, food insecurity, and household chaos in families with 12-month-old infants and 3.5-year-old children.
  • Measured chronic stress via parent and child hair cortisol concentration (HCC).
  • Measured diurnal cortisol patterns using salivary cortisol concentration (SCC) in children.

Main Results:

  • Parent education predicted infant and child HCC, while neighborhood risk predicted infant HCC, even after controlling for parental HCC.
  • Household chaos was associated with lower bedtime SCC in both age groups and reduced infant daily cortisol output.
  • Food insecurity correlated with a flattened cortisol slope in 3.5-year-old children, and parental sensitivity did not mediate SES-cortisol relations.

Conclusions:

  • Multidimensional SES measures, particularly those reflecting unpredictable and unsafe environments like neighborhood risk, food insecurity, and household chaos, are vital for understanding cortisol dysregulation in early development.
  • These findings underscore the importance of considering environmental factors beyond income and education when examining the impact of SES on children's biological stress systems.
  • Targeting interventions to mitigate risks associated with neighborhood safety, food security, and household stability may be crucial for promoting healthy HPA axis function in vulnerable children.

Keywords:
food insecurityhair cortisolsalivary cortisolsocioeconomic statusstress

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