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Foster Children’s Diurnal Production of Cortisol: An Exploratory Study

University of Delaware

Melissa Manni

University of Delaware

M. Kathleen Gordon

University of Delaware

Elizabeth Peloso

University of Delaware

Megan R. Gunnar

University of Minnesota

K. Chase Stovall-McClough

New York University Medical Center

Diana Eldreth

University of Delaware

Seymour Levine

University of California-Davis

Young children in foster care have often experienced inadequate early care and separations from caregivers. Preclinical studies suggest that early inadequate care and separations are associated with long-term changes in regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. In this study, the daytime pattern of cortisol production was examined among 55 young children who had been placed into foster care and 104 children who had not. Saliva samples were taken at wake-up, in the afternoon, and bedtime for 2 days. Average salivary cortisol values for each time of day were computed. A group (foster vs. comparison) time (morning, afternoon, night) interaction emerged, reflecting less decline in levels across the day for foster than comparison children. Daytime patterns were categorized as typical, low, or high. Children who had been in foster care had higher incidences of atypical patterns of cortisol production than children who had not. These differences suggest that conditions associated with foster care interfere with children’s ability to regulate neuroendocrine functioning.

Key Words: early experience and glucocorticoids • early experience • stress neurobiology • and prevention science

Child Maltreatment, Vol. 11, No. 2, 189-197 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1077559505285779


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