Stress responsivity in children with externalizing behavior disorders

Snoek, H., Van Goozen, Stephanie Helena Maria ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5983-4734, Matthys, W., Buitelaar, J. K. and Van Engeland, H. 2004. Stress responsivity in children with externalizing behavior disorders. Development and Psychopathology 16 (2) , pp. 389-406. 10.1017/S0954579404044578

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Abstract

Patterns of lower autonomic nervous system ~ANS! and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal ~HPA! axis activity have been found in children with oppositional defiant disorder ~ODD!. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether children with attention-deficit0hyperactivity disorder ~ADHD! differ from ODD children with ~OD0AD! or without comorbid ADHD in ANS and HPA axis activity under baseline and stressful conditions. The effects of stress on cortisol, heart rate ~HR!, and skin conductance level ~SCL! were studied in 95 children ~26 normal control @NC# children and 69 child psychiatric patients referred for externalizing behavior problems @15 ODD, 31 OD0AD, and 23 ADHD#!. No baseline differences were found in cortisol between the four groups. However, the ODD and OD0AD groups showed a significantly weaker cortisol response to stress compared to the ADHD and NC groups; the ADHD group had a similar cortisol response as the NC group. Within the ODD group this pattern of low cortisol responsivity was most clearly present in the more severely affected inpatients. With respect to HR, the ODD group had a significantly lower HR during baseline and stressful conditions. The higher HR levels in the OD0AD and ADHD groups were likely to be caused by methylphenidate. The externalizing groups had significantly lower SCL levels, and no differences were found between these groups. It was concluded that differences in cortisol responsivity during stress exposure are important in distinguishing within a group of children with externalizing behavior between those with ODD and ADHD.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Psychology Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute (NMHRI)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology R Medicine > RJ Pediatrics
Additional Information:	Pdf uploaded in accordance with publisher's policy at http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/issn/0954-5794/ (accessed 24/02/2014).
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
ISSN:	0954-5794
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 March 2016
Last Modified:	04 May 2023 21:51
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/33805

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