Abstract
•Child depressive symptoms are related to cortisol, sAA, and cortisol-sAA coordination in two distinct stressor paradigms.•Type of challenge and rater (parent or child) influenced associations between depressive symptoms and cortisol and sAA.•Depressive symptoms were only associated with cortisol-sAA coordination in the competition challenge.•Multiple informants and stressor contexts are needed to understand the link between depression and stress reactivity.•Future research should integrate these factors in models of physiological stress and developmental psychopathology.
Child depression has been inconsistency linked to cortisol and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) reactivity. This study assessed three factors that contribute to inconsistencies: 1) the differential effectiveness of laboratory challenges to elicit cortisol and sAA; 2) the impact of cortisol-sAA coordination; and 3) variation in parent versus child ratings of depression. A community sample of 52 children participated in the Trier Social Stress Test-Child Version (TSST-C) and a competition challenge. Saliva was collected and assayed for cortisol and sAA. Analyses were conducted using multilevel modeling. Child-reported depressive symptoms were associated with a declining cortisol trajectory in the TSST-C. Mother-reported depressive symptoms were associated with higher baseline sAA in the TSST-C and the competition challenge. Further, child-reported depressive symptoms were associated with cortisol-sAA coordination in the competition challenge. Findings underscore the nature of the challenge and the behavioral informant as impacting associations between child depressive symptoms and cortisol and sAA secretion.