Department of Psychiatry, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2022 Sep 22;13(2):2116826. doi: 10.1080/20008066.2022.2116826. eCollection 2022.
Experiences of negative social interactions and childhood trauma (CT) can lead to aberrant hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal functions. Poor theory of mind (ToM) ability is related to increased social stress levels; however, studies on the relationship between ToM and cortisol remain scarce. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between ToM and the hair cortisol concentration (HCC) in healthy young adults considering the moderating role of CT. A total of 206 healthy young adults were divided into two groups based on an experience of moderate-to-severe childhood trauma (CT+ and CT-). To determine whether CT moderated the relationship between ToM and HCC, moderation analysis was conducted controlling for age, sex, years of education, and scores of perceived stress, depression, and anxiety. CT+ individuals reported higher subjective stress perception and depressive symptoms than CT- individuals, whereas anxiety-related symptoms, ToM, and HCC were not different between the groups. The experience of CT significantly moderated the relationship between ToM and HCC. The association between poorer ToM ability and higher HCC was significant only in CT+ group. CT is a moderator of the association between ToM and HCC, indicating the importance of CT in social cognition and the stress response.
负面社会交往和儿童期创伤（CT）经历可导致下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺功能异常。心理理论（ToM）能力差与社会压力水平增加有关；然而，关于 ToM 和皮质醇之间关系的研究仍然很少。本研究旨在评估健康年轻成年人的 ToM 与头发皮质醇浓度（HCC）之间的关系，同时考虑 CT 的调节作用。共有 206 名健康年轻成年人根据中度至重度儿童期创伤经历（CT+和 CT-）分为两组。为了确定 CT 是否调节了 ToM 和 HCC 之间的关系，在控制年龄、性别、受教育年限以及感知压力、抑郁和焦虑评分的情况下，进行了调节分析。CT+个体报告的主观压力感知和抑郁症状高于 CT-个体，而两组之间的焦虑相关症状、ToM 和 HCC 无差异。CT 的经历显著调节了 ToM 和 HCC 之间的关系。仅在 CT+组中，较差的 ToM 能力与较高的 HCC 之间存在显著关联。CT 是 ToM 和 HCC 之间关联的调节剂，表明 CT 在社会认知和应激反应中的重要性。
