Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
Dev Psychopathol. 2020 May;32(2):641-660. doi: 10.1017/S0954579419000518.
We conducted signal detection analyses to test for curvilinear, U-shaped relations between early experiences of adversity and heightened physiological responses to challenge, as proposed by biological sensitivity to context theory. Based on analysis of an ethnically diverse sample of 338 kindergarten children (4-6 years old) and their families, we identified levels and types of adversity that, singly and interactively, predicted high (top 25%) and low (bottom 25%) rates of stress reactivity. The results offered support for the hypothesized U-shaped curve and conceptually replicated and extended the work of Ellis, Essex, and Boyce (2005). Across both sympathetic and adrenocortical systems, a disproportionate number of children growing up under conditions characterized by either low or high adversity (as indexed by restrictive parenting, family stress, and family economic condition) displayed heightened stress reactivity, compared with peers growing up under conditions of moderate adversity. Finally, as hypothesized by the adaptive calibration model, a disproportionate number of children who experienced exceptionally stressful family conditions displayed blunted cortisol reactivity to stress.
我们进行了信号检测分析，以检验生物敏感性情境理论所提出的早期逆境经历与对挑战的增强生理反应之间的曲线、U 型关系。基于对 338 名幼儿园儿童（4-6 岁）及其家庭的种族多样化样本的分析，我们确定了单一和交互作用的逆境水平和类型，这些逆境预测了高（前 25%）和低（后 25%）应激反应率。结果为假设的 U 型曲线提供了支持，并在概念上复制和扩展了 Ellis、Essex 和 Boyce（2005）的工作。在交感和肾上腺皮质系统中，与在中等逆境条件下成长的同龄人相比，在以限制养育、家庭压力和家庭经济状况为指标的低或高逆境条件下成长的儿童中，应激反应增强的儿童比例不成比例。最后，正如适应校准模型假设的那样，经历异常紧张家庭环境的儿童中，皮质醇对压力的反应迟钝的比例不成比例。
