Xu Youyun, Liu Yapeng, Chen Zheng, Zhang Jing, Deng Huihua, Gu Jiexin
Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science (Southeast University), Ministry of Education and Institute of Child Development and Education, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.
Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Special Children's Impairment and Intervention, Nanjing Normal University of Special Education, Nanjing, China.
Front Psychol. 2019 Mar 5;10:297. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00297. eCollection 2019.
The differential susceptibility model and the diathesis-stress model on the interaction effect between the individuals' traits and environmental factors will be conducive to understand in depth whether the psychophysiological traits are the risk factors of child development. However, there is no study focusing on the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. We examined whether the HPA activity serves as a physiological marker of the differential susceptibility model or the diathesis-stress model by exploring the interactive effect of life events and hair cortisol on perceived stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents. The participants were 324 students in senior high school. They reported their psychological states with questionnaires in their first semester after a 3-month adaptation period; 2 weeks later, they provided 1-cm hair segments closest to the scalp. We measured hair cortisol concentration as a biomarker of HPA activity using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. There was a significant interaction effect of academic events and hair cortisol on adolescents' perceived stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms. We also observed a significant interaction between interpersonal events and hair cortisol on adolescents' anxiety symptoms. Looking at the region of significance, proportion of interaction index, and proportion affected index, we found that adolescents with higher cortisol levels had a tendency to experience higher perceived stress and anxiety symptoms when they had high academic events scores, but lower perceived stress and anxiety symptoms when they had lower academic events scores. By contrast, adolescents with higher cortisol levels had a greater risk of experiencing high depressive symptoms only when they had higher academic events scores. Adolescents with higher cortisol levels also tended to have lower anxiety symptoms when they had higher interpersonal events scores, but greater anxiety symptoms when they had lower interpersonal events scores. These results suggested that HPA activity might serve as a biomarker of the differential susceptibility model for perceived stress and anxiety symptoms, while for depressive symptoms, it might serve as a marker of the diathesis-stress model.
个体特质与环境因素相互作用效应的差异易感性模型和素质-应激模型，将有助于深入理解心理生理特质是否为儿童发展的风险因素。然而，尚无研究聚焦于下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴的活动。我们通过探究生活事件与头发皮质醇对中国青少年感知压力、焦虑和抑郁症状的交互作用，来检验HPA活动是否作为差异易感性模型或素质-应激模型的生理标志物。参与者为324名高中生。在经过3个月适应期后的第一学期，他们用问卷报告自己的心理状态；2周后，他们提供最靠近头皮的1厘米头发段。我们使用高效液相色谱-串联质谱法测量头发皮质醇浓度，将其作为HPA活动的生物标志物。学业事件与头发皮质醇对青少年的感知压力、焦虑和抑郁症状存在显著的交互作用。我们还观察到人际事件与头发皮质醇对青少年焦虑症状有显著交互作用。从显著区域、交互指数比例和受影响指数比例来看，我们发现皮质醇水平较高的青少年，在学业事件得分高时，有经历更高感知压力和焦虑症状的倾向，但在学业事件得分低时，感知压力和焦虑症状较低。相比之下，皮质醇水平较高的青少年，只有在学业事件得分较高时，才有经历高抑郁症状的更大风险。皮质醇水平较高的青少年在人际事件得分高时，也倾向于有较低的焦虑症状，但在人际事件得分低时，焦虑症状更严重。这些结果表明，HPA活动可能作为感知压力和焦虑症状差异易感性模型的生物标志物，而对于抑郁症状，它可能作为素质-应激模型的标志物。
