Maternal depression and cortisol in pregnancy predict offspring emotional reactivity in the preschool period

Prenatal exposures to higher levels of maternal cortisol and depression have been linked to a variety of adverse physiological, neurological, and behavioral outcomes, such as dysregulated cortisol production, structural and functional differences in limbic areas of the brain, and greater negative emotionality. This study investigated prospective associations between maternal prepartum depression/cortisol levels and offspring emotional reactivity in 163 mother–child pairs. Women were assessed repeatedly during pregnancy, and later participated in a laboratory visit with their preschool‐aged children. Mothers self‐reported on depressive symptomatology during pregnancy and provided saliva samples for cortisol assay. Offspring emotional reactivity was assessed through multiple measures, including caregiver reports, cortisol response following a stressor, and laboratory observations of behavior. The findings suggest potential prenatal timing effects, with depression and maternal cortisol measured in the first and second trimesters being more strongly associated with child emotional reactivity. Sex was found to moderate associations between maternal prepartum depression/cortisol and child emotional reactivity, with the general pattern reflecting positive associations in girls, and negative associations in boys.     

Dissociations between psychobiologic reactivity and emotional expression in children

Although there are general assumptions that physiological and behavioral indices of emotion are interrelated, empirical research has revealed inconsistent findings with regard to their degree of association, particularly in children. Two studies were conducted to examine the relations between cardiovascular reactivity and emotional behavior. In the first study, 3- to 6-year-olds completed challenging tasks during which measures of their physiological responses and facial expressions were obtained. With age, children's heart rate decreased, vagal tone increased, and facial expressions became slightly more exaggerated. However, children's physiologic reactions were unrelated to their concurrent facial expression when all children were considered, when only boys were considered, and when children extreme in their physiologic reactions were considered. Only among girls was physiologic reactivity moderately associated with concurrent negative expressiveness. In the second study, 4- and 5-year-olds' physiologic reactivity was examined as a predictor of later overt emotional reaction to venipuncture episodes. Children's overt emotional reactions were consistent across repeated venipunctures, and girls were more visibly distressed than boys. As in the first study, physiologic reactivity was generally unrelated to children's behavioral responses. Findings have implications for assumptions about the degree of coupling between biological and behavioral emotional systems in childhood.     

Effects of gender on type A assessment with the Matthews Youth Test for Health (MYTH)

This study investigated the influence of childrens' and teachers' sex on Type A assessment using the Matthews Youth Test for Health (MYTH). Two hundred and ten teachers and student teachers read vignettes describing the behavior of children reacting to challenges in a school environment. Teachers were randomly assigned to one of four vignettes: (1) male Type A child; (2) female Type A child; (3) male Type B child; (4) female Type B child. Higher MYTH scores were assigned to Type A compared with Type B children. However, among Type A children, male teachers assigned significantly lower MYTH scores to girls than to boys; the MYTH ratings made by female teachers for Type A children were equivalent for boys and girls. These results suggest that the sex of the child and the teacher interact significantly to influence aspects of Type A assessment, but that classification overall reflects observed behavior.     

Disturbed sleep and emotional reactivity in 5-year-old children

Background

Individual differences in emotional reactivity may be associated with sleep disturbances. This study aimed at assessing the possible association between emotional reactivity and sleep disturbance in preschool children.

Methods

The study was conducted in 2011 and comprised 142 apparently healthy preschool children (78 boys, 64 girls) from the community setting selected by chance. The children did not have any inborn abnormalities, disabilities, or chronic and progressive diseases; they were 5 years old at the time of study, were singletons born in St. Petersburg, and attended preschool day care centers. Children completed the Sleep Self Report (SSR) questionnaire. The items from the SSR were considered separately, and groups of questions were added to produce the scores in three dimensions of sleep problems: difficulty going to bed, sleep duration and night waking, and daytime sleepiness. The Achenbach Caregiver-Teacher Report Form for Ages 1.5–5 for the caregivers was used to calculate the emotional reactivity.

Results

The higher levels of emotional reactivity were more commonly associated with the children’s self-reported habits of falling asleep in their parents’ or sibling’s bed, nightmares seen, and feeling sleepy during the day. The more emotionally reactive children felt rested less commonly after night sleep. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between the level of emotional reactivity and the calculated values of the night waking, daytime sleepiness, and global sleep disturbances scores. These associations remained significant after adjustment for major potential confounders.

Conclusion

A high level of emotional reactivity is associated with sleep disturbances in preschool children.     

Effects of Gender on Type A Assessment with the Matthews Youth Test for Health (MYTH)

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of childrens' and teachers' sex on Type A assessment using the Matthews Youth Test for Health (MYTH). Two hundred and ten teachers and student teachers read vignettes describing the behavior of children reacting to challenges in a school environment. Teachers were randomly assigned to one of four vignettes: (1) male Type A child; (2) female Type A child; (3) male Type B child; (4) female Type B child. Higher MYTH scores were assigned to Type A compared with Type B children. However, among Type A children, male teachers assigned significantly lower MYTH scores to girls than to boys; the MYTH ratings made by female teachers for Type A children were equivalent for boys and girls. These results suggest that the sex of the child and the teacher interact significantly to influence aspects of Type A assessment, but that classification overall reflects observed behavior.     

Gender differences in the association between cardiovascular reactivity and aggressive conduct.

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the association between cardiovascular reactivity to provocation and physically and relationally aggressive conduct. Blood pressure and heart rate were assessed among seventy-seven 5th-grade participants during a period of rest and while discussing a relational provocation. In addition, teachers reported on participants' physically and relationally aggressive behavior. Results provided support for the hypothesis that heightened cardiac reactivity to provocation would be associated with relational forms of aggression among girls. In contrast, for boys, lower cardiac reactivity was associated with physical aggression. These results suggest that the association between cardiovascular reactivity and aggression differs for males and females and that reactivity following relational provocation may be an especially important predictor of relational aggression among girls. Implications for interventions among aggressive children are discussed.     

Impaired memory and general intelligence related to severity and duration of patients' disease in Type A posttraumatic stress disorder

Studies of short-term memory and general intelligence associated with duration and severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on observed Type A scores are rare. The authors' aim was to assess Type A behavior and identify subgroups of patients who performed most poorly on memory and intelligence tests and Type A scores related to the severity and duration of their disease. They administered nonverbal memory and intelligence tests to 30 men with PTSD and 20 men without PTSD who responded. During their initial contact with the participants, 2 experts assessed 3 major coronary-prone characteristics (hyperalertness, tight facial musculature, and explosive speech). They found significant differences between the PTSD and control groups in total Type A scores. Those with the most severe PTSD performed most poorly on visual retention tests and showed the highest scores on self-reported and subjective diastolic blood pressure reactivity during magnetic resonance imaging. In the PTSD group, high error scores on the visual retention test predicted Type A behavior and low scores on the picture memory block design tests predicted high Type A scores. A significant positive correlation was found between Type A and clinician-assessed subjective distress, whereas the correlations were significantly negative between picture memory and Type A behavior Suppressed fear is commonly associated with PTSD; decades of research on Type A behavior have isolated fear as a crucial factor in cardiovascular disease.     

Type A behavior in healthy males and females as related to physiological reactivity and blood lipids

Type A behavior was assessed in 30 men and 30 women (ages 30-50) by a Videotaped Structured Interview (VSI). Scores for total Type A behavior as well as subcomponents (competitiveness, time urgency, hostility) were examined in relation to cardiovascular and neuroendocrine reactivity during a work day (change from a work-free day) and during laboratory-induced stress (change from resting condition). In addition, Type A and Type B males and females were compared with regard to total serum cholesterol, LDL and HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides. The results showed relationships between 1) competitiveness/hostility and physiological reactivity at work in men, 2) total Type A behavior (and hostility) and serum cholesterol in men, and 3) hostility and serum cholesterol in women. As expected, the association between Type A behavior and physiological measurements was more pronounced for "extreme" Type A and B men and women (upper and lower 10 subjects, respectively) than for the total groups of each sex.     

Interactions between salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase as predictors of children's cognitive functioning and academic performance

We examined relations between salivary cortisol, alpha-amylase (sAA), and children's cognitive and academic functioning. Of interest were curvilinear and interactive effects of these salivary measures on cognitive and academic performance. Data were based on a sample of 28 boys and 36 girls (ages 8 and 9) in the Southeastern U.S.A. Children provided resting afternoon saliva samples. Children completed standardized tests of Intellectual Ability and schools provided academic achievement information. Regression analyses demonstrated significant curvilinear relations and interactions between cortisol and sAA in the prediction of child functioning. Contrary to current models of interactions among biological systems, findings indicated some of the highest and lowest scores were predicted at moderate levels of physiological arousal. For example, children with moderate sAA and either higher or lower cortisol had low predicted scores for Reading Ability. Children with moderate cortisol and lower sAA had the highest predicted scores for Intellectual Ability. Findings suggest that the study of interactions between biological stress response systems should not be based on models of rectilinear interactions.     

Interactions between salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase as predictors of children's cognitive functioning and academic performance

We examined relations between salivary cortisol, alpha-amylase (sAA), and children's cognitive and academic functioning. Of interest were curvilinear and interactive effects of these salivary measures on cognitive and academic performance. Data were based on a sample of 28 boys and 36 girls (ages 8 and 9) in the Southeastern U.S.A. Children provided resting afternoon saliva samples. Children completed standardized tests of Intellectual Ability and schools provided academic achievement information. Regression analyses demonstrated significant curvilinear relations and interactions between cortisol and sAA in the prediction of child functioning. Contrary to current models of interactions among biological systems, findings indicated some of the highest and lowest scores were predicted at moderate levels of physiological arousal. For example, children with moderate sAA and either higher or lower cortisol had low predicted scores for Reading Ability. Children with moderate cortisol and lower sAA had the highest predicted scores for Intellectual Ability. Findings suggest that the study of interactions between biological stress response systems should not be based on models of rectilinear interactions.     

The Relationship between the Type A Behavior Pattern and Physiological Responsivity: A Quantitative Review

Researchers have attempted to specify the process linking Type A behavior to coronary artery disease. Increased cardiovascular and neuroendocrine reactivity in Type A individuals has been proposed as the intervening mechanism. There have been several previous reviews of the research relating Type A behavior to physiological reactivity. The authors' conclusions have been equivocal; some assert that Type A persons are more reactive, whereas others find no evidence for such a conclusion. In this report, meta-analysis, an alternative to the traditional narrative review, was employed to provide a quantitative evaluation of the relationship between Type A behavior and physiological reactivity. Results indicated that: 1) Type As respond to cognitive and psychomotor stimulus situations with greater heart rate and systolic blood pressure responses, 2) this relationship is not evident in females, 3) the relationship is more evident for some cognitive tasks than for others, and 4) the strength of the relationship depends upon the instrument used to assess Type A behavior.     

The personality of the cardiac responder: interaction of seriousmindedness and type A behavior

Forty healthy university students were recruited from a larger sample to form subgroups of seriousminded and playful Type A and Type B individuals according to their responses to the Telic Dominance Scale and Jenkins Activity Survey. The experiment made use of a factorial design and tested the hypothesis that cardiovascular reactivity during a continuous perceptual motor task is highest in individuals who are characterized by a combination of seriousmindedness and Type A behavior pattern. Relatively low levels of sympathetic reactivity were expected in playful Type B individuals. Heart rate (HR) and pulse transit time (PTT) scores from baseline and task performance periods supported the conclusions that: (1) Cardiovascular activation appeared during task performance; and that (2) seriousmindedness and Type A behavior exerted particularly significant additive effects upon HR, whereas Type A behavior showed a stronger association than did seriousmindedness with PTT scores. Analyses using pre-task score as covariate to task-scores, indicated stronger reactivity for HR in Type A than in Type B subjects.     

Familial aggregation of Type A behavior

This research examined the relationship of children's Type A behavior pattern, as measured by the Matthews Youth Test for Health, to parents' Type A behavior pattern, as measured by the Jenkins Activity Survey, Form C. A total of 115 families with boys and 106 families with girls enrolled in the fourth through sixth grades participated. There were no significant correlations between the Pattern A scores of fathers and those of their children, but there was evidence for a maternal influence on the development of children's Type A behavior. The results are compared with results from studies of familial aggregation previously reported in the literature.Data collection and analysis was supported by Grant A/S SCOR -Lipids, Atherosclerosis, and Thrombosis HL 14230.     

Psychophysiological reactivity and speech behavior during the Structured Type A Interview and a self-disclosure monologue

Speech characteristics and the simultaneously recorded psychophysiological reactivity were compared between two tape-recorded speech tests, the Structured Type A Interview (SI) and a standardized 'self-disclosure' monologue (SD) as a non-social speech test. The SD started with a 5-min mental preparation interval followed by 3 subsequent self-reports each lasting 1.5 min. The 26 students used as subjects showed in all cardiovascular parameters (interbeat interval, pulse transit time to the earlobe, finger plethysmographic amplitudes and blood pressure) strong and similar reactivity to both tests. The individual rankings of physiological reactivity turned out to be remarkably constant over all experimental periods, but this reactivity was neither correlated with the Type A scores nor with sex. Modest correlations between the SI and SD test were obtained for word rate, expiratory sighs, and silent latent pauses. Thereby, some speech variables tended to be affected by the Type A behavior, and, to a somewhat stronger extent, by sex. The desirability of a non-social speech test for assessing Type A behavior is discussed.     

Race and Sex Differences in Health Locus of Control Beliefs and Cardiovascular Reactivity

Examined the effects of race, sex, health locus of control (HLC),and the interactions of these variables on cardiovascular reactivityin 214 children. Participants completed the MultidimensionalHLC scales for children. Systolic and diastolic blood pressureswere measured at rest and during a reactivity task. Black boyshad significantly higher scores on the powerful others (externalHLC) subscale (p < 0.01) than white boys and girls. Furthermore,black boys showed greater systolic blood pressure reactivitywhen they were low on internality (vs. high) as compared tothe other race-sex groups. Social and cultural factors may explainthese differential findings across race and sex.     

Assessing type a behavior in 8-year-olds: Exploring the overlap between the constructs of type a behavior and hyperactivity

This study attempted to examine, by using behavioral observations, the overlap found between Type A behavior, as measured by the Matthews Youth Test for Health (MYTH) questionnaire, and measures of hyperactivity in children. The sample consisted of 91 children (46 boys and 45 girls) between the ages of 8 and 9 who were part of a longitudinal study in Uppsala, Sweden. Behavioral observations of Type A behavior and various questionnaire data were used. The behaviorally observed Type A behavior correlated significantly with MYTH Type A behavior, whereas only the MYTH Type A behavior correlated with hyperactivity measured by questionnaires. The results indicated that behavioral observations make it possible to measure Type A behavior as distinct from hyperactivity, implying that the MYTH is too indiscriminate a measure of Type A behavior. This has implications for future measurement and perhaps conceptualization of Type A behavior in children, and thereby also for studying the developmental aspects of Type A behavior.     

Affective and physiological responses to stress in girls at elevated risk for depression

Children of depressed parents are significantly more likely to develop depression and other mental health disorders than are children of never-depressed parents. Investigations of the physiological mechanisms underlying this elevated risk have generally focused on basal functioning. It is important to note, however, that physiological reactivity or responses to stress are also critical determinants of mental and physical health. In the current study, we examined whether children of depressed parents exhibit altered physiological responses to stress. In two studies, never-depressed adolescent daughters of either recurrently depressed mothers (RISK) or never-depressed mothers (CTL) underwent social stressors while their physiological responses were measured (cortisol in Study 1, heart rate in Study 2). In both studies, affective responses to the stressors predicted physiological responses in RISK girls, but not in never-depressed girls. For RISK girls, decreased positive affect in response to stress predicted increased cortisol reactivity; in addition, decreased positive affect and increased negative affect were associated with poorer heart rate recovery and habituation, respectively. Future research is needed to examine explicitly whether this coherence between affect and physiology is a mechanism underlying the increased risk for psychopathology in children of depressed parents.     

Prenatal maternal emotional complaints are associated with cortisol responses in toddler and preschool aged girls

Associations between prenatal maternal emotional complaints and child behavioral and cognitive problems have been reported, with different relations for boys and girls. Fetal programming hypotheses underline these associations and state that the early development of the HPA‐axis of the children may have been affected. In the present study, differences in cortisol responses of prenatally exposed and nonexposed children are examined for both sexes separately. Cortisol response patterns of a group preschool aged children that were prenatally exposed to high levels of maternal emotional complaints (N = 51) were compared to a nonexposed group (N = 52). Child saliva was collected at the start of a home visit (T1), 22 min after a mother–child interaction episode (T2), and 22 min after a potentially frustrating task (T3). Repeated measures analyses showed that prenatally exposed girls showed higher cortisol levels across the three episodes compared to nonexposed girls. No differences were found in boys. Maternal prenatal emotional complaints might be related to child HPA‐axis functioning differently for boys and girls. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 51: 553–563, 2009.     

Sex differences in behaviour pattern and catecholamine and cortisol excretion in 3-6 year old day-care children

Fifteen boys and eleven girls between three and six years of age were examined at a day-care center and at home as regards their catecholamine and cortisol excretion. Behaviour pattern was assessed by the MYTH-scale, which measures the competitiveness, impatience-anger and aggression components of the type A behaviour pattern in children (Matthews and Angulo, 1980). The boys obtained higher type A scores and excreted more adrenaline and noradrenaline than the girls, while cortisol excretion did not differ between the sexes. In view of previous findings, the results suggest that sex differences in catecholamine excretion in children are induced by sex related differences in behaviour. This relationship in childhood could be of relevance for sex differences in catecholamine responses observed in adulthood. In both sexes, adrenaline excretion was significantly elevated at the day-care center compared with the at-home levels, indicating that mental arousal was greater at the center. In a separate part of the study, eleven new children were tested while they were adjusting to the day-care situation; it was found that only noradrenaline levels during the first week at the center were significantly elevated.     

Biobehavioral basis of coronary-prone behavior in middle-age men. Part II: Serum cholesterol, the Type A behavior pattern, and hostility as interactive modulators of physiological reactivity.

Prior research suggests that the Type A behavior pattern, Cook and Medley Hostility (Ho) scores, and Total Serum Cholesterol (TSC) are positively associated with physiological changes to behavioral stressors. The objective of the present study was to determine whether TSC interacts with the Type A behavior pattern and hostility to affect cardiovascular and neurohormonal responses to a mental arithmetic task (MATH). For Type A individuals, elevated TSC was associated with larger catecholamine and cortisol responses to MATH. In contrast, for Type B subjects, cholesterol was negatively associated with neurohormonal responses. The interaction between Ho score and TSC predicted a similar pattern of responses whereby, in high hostile men only, TSC was positively associated with MATH-induced changes in catecholamines and heart rate. While the mechanisms responsible for the differences in the lipid-reactivity association as a function of coronary-prone behavior measures remain to be elucidated, this differential association may play a role in the heightened risk of coronary disease among hostile Type A men.