August 18, 2010Open Access
View Full PaperStressed out? Associations between perceived and physiological stress responses in adolescents: The TRAILS study
Key Result
Perceived stress responses during a laboratory social stress test covaried with concurrent physiological stress responses in the ANS and HPA axis, although effect sizes were small.
Study Design
Type
Observational (n=715)
Structured PICO
Do perceived stress responses covary with physiological stress responses during a social stress test in adolescents?
P
Population
715 adolescents, mean age 16.11 years (SD=0.59), 50.9% girls
I
Intervention
Laboratory social stress test
O
Outcome
Covariation of perceived stress responses (arousal, unpleasantness, dominance) and concurrent physiological stress responses (heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, cortisol)surrogate
Perceived stress and physiological stress responses (ANS and HPA axis) covary during social stress in adolescents, though effect sizes are small.
Abstract
Studies regarding the interrelation of perceived and physiological stress indices have shown diverging results. Using a population sample of adolescents (N=715, 50.9% girls, mean age 16.11 years, SD=0.59), we tested three hypotheses: (1) perceived responses during social stress covary with concurrent physiological stress responses; (2) high pretest levels of perceived stress predict large physiological responses; and (3) large physiological responses to social stress predict low posttest perceived stress levels. Perceived arousal, unpleasantness, and dominance were related to heart rate, respiratory sinus arrhythmia, and cortisol responses to a laboratory social stress test. Although effect sizes were small, the results suggest covariation of perceived stress and concurrent physiological stress responses in both the ANS and the HPA axis, as well as inverse associations between heart rate responsiveness and the subsequent appraisal of stress.