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Stress responsivity in children with externalizing behavior disorders
Ist Teil von
Development and psychopathology, 2004-06, Vol.16 (2), p.389-406
Ort / Verlag
New York, USA: Cambridge University Press
Erscheinungsjahr
2004
Quelle
MEDLINE
Beschreibungen/Notizen
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-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) differ from ODD
children with (OD/AD) 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 OD/AD, and 23 ADHD]). No baseline
differences were found in cortisol between the four groups. However,
the ODD and OD/AD 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 OD/AD 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.