Exploring salivary cortisol and recurrent pain in mid-adolescents living in two homes

• Introduction: Every year, around 50.000 children in Sweden experience a separation between their parents. Joint physical custody (JPC), where the child alternates homes between the parents for about equal amount of time, has become a common living arrangement after parental separation. Children living in two homes can benefit from everyday contact with both parents and access to both parents’ financial resources. However, children can also experience stress from constantly moving and from exposure to any parental conflict. Yet, research on JPC and stress-related biological functioning is limited. The aimof this study was to investigate how living arrangements (intact family/JPC) relate toHPA-axis activity and recurrent pain in mid-adolescents. Methods: Mid-adolescents (106 girls and 51 boys) provided demographic details, self-reports of recurrent pain (headache, stomachache, neck/shoulder and back pain) and salivary samples. Salivary cortisol samples were collected: 1) immediately at awakening, 2) +30 minutes, 3) +60 minutes, and 4) at 8 p.m. Results: Hierarchical regressions showed that living arrangements did not predict morning cortisol levels, the diurnal cortisol rhythm nor recurrent pain. However, sex was significantly associated with both morning cortisol and recurrent pain. Conclusion: Living arrangements were not linked to HPA-axis activity or recurrent pain in this group of well-functioning mid-adolescents. Although this is the first study investigating how living arrangements relate to HPA-axis functioning, which means that additional research is needed, the findings suggest that these mid-adolescents have adapted to their living arrangements and that other factors seem more pertinent for HPA-functioning and subjective health complaints.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Folkhälsovetenskap, global hälsa, socialmedicin och epidemiologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Psykologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Psychology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

joint custody

cortisol

pain

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)