Adolescents exposed to laboratory stressors exhibited greater beta-adrenergic activation than children, with gender differences in reactivity emerging more clearly in the older group.
Cross-Sectional (n=159)
Do age, race, and gender influence hemodynamic responses to laboratory stressors in children and adolescents?
Hemodynamic reactivity to stress shows age and gender-dependent maturation, with adolescents exhibiting greater beta-adrenergic activation and more pronounced gender differences than younger children, while previously reported racial differences in vasoconstriction were not replicated.
The objectives of the present study were threefold: (a) to compare the patterns of hemodynamic responding of children and adolescents during behavioral challenges, (b) to examine whether previously reported cardiovascular reactivity differences between Black and White children are dependent on pubertal status, and (c) to assess whether gender differences in hemodynamic response reported for adults is similar in children. One hundred fifty-nine children (ages 8-10 years) and adolescents (ages 15-17 years), equally divided along gender and racial lines, participated in a laboratory protocol consisting of a reaction time task, a mirror tracing task, a cold forehead challenge, and a stress interview. Results indicated that adolescents responded with greater beta-adrenergic activation than did children and that gender differences in reactivity often reported for adults emerged more clearly in the adolescents than in the children. This study failed to replicate prior findings of greater vasoconstrictive responses in Black children as compared with White children.
Allen et al. (Thu,) reported a cross-sectional. Laboratory stressors vs. Age, race, and gender groups was evaluated on Hemodynamic responses. Adolescents exposed to laboratory stressors exhibited greater beta-adrenergic activation than children, with gender differences in reactivity emerging more clearly in the older group.