Department of Psychology, Middlesex University, Hendon, London, NW4 4BT, UK,
J Youth Adolesc. 2015 May;44(5):1066-77. doi: 10.1007/s10964-014-0182-z. Epub 2014 Sep 9.
Attachment behaviors play a critical role in regulating emotion within the context of close relationships, and attachment theory is currently used to inform evidence-based practice in the areas of adolescent health and social care. This study investigated the association between female adolescents' interview-based attachment behaviors and two markers of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity: cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). Unlike the classic stress hormone cortisol, there is very limited investigation of DHEA-a quintessential developmental hormone-in relation to attachment, especially in adolescents. Fifty-five healthy females mean age 14.36 (±2.41) years participated in the attachment style interview. A smaller cortisol awakening response was related to anxious attachment attitudes, including more fear of rejection, whereas greater morning basal DHEA secretion was only predicted by lower levels of reported confiding in one's mother. These attachment-hormone relationships may be developmental markers in females, as they were independent of menarche status. These findings highlight that the normative shifts occurring in attachment to caregivers around adolescence are reflected in adolescents' biological stress regulation. We discuss how studying these shifts can be informed by evolutionary-developmental theory.
依附行为在亲密关系背景下对情绪调节起着至关重要的作用,而依附理论目前被用于为青少年健康和社会关怀领域的循证实践提供信息。本研究调查了女性青少年访谈式依附行为与两种下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴活动标志物(皮质醇和脱氢表雄酮(DHEA))之间的关联。与经典应激激素皮质醇不同,DHEA——一种典型的发育激素——与依附的关联研究非常有限,尤其是在青少年中。55 名健康女性(平均年龄 14.36±2.41 岁)参与了依附风格访谈。较小的皮质醇觉醒反应与焦虑依附态度有关,包括对拒绝的更多恐惧,而较高的早晨基础 DHEA 分泌仅由报告与母亲倾诉较少的情况预测。这些依附-激素关系可能是女性的发育标志物,因为它们与初潮状态无关。这些发现强调了青春期前后与照顾者的依附关系中发生的规范转变反映在青少年的生物应激调节中。我们讨论了如何通过进化发展理论来研究这些转变。