Does Social Buffering Continue to be Effective Over the Peripubertal Period When Friends Share the Stressor Experience?
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Completed
- Sponsor
- University of Minnesota
- Enrollment
- 269
- Locations
- 2
- Primary Endpoint
- Cortisol AUCi
Study Overview
Brief Summary
The purpose of this experiment is to determine whether social buffering by friends of stress physiology remains effective later in puberty when friends share the load versus when they provide support but are not undergoing the stressor with the target child. There are four conditions: (1) Friend and Target both undergo the stressor, (2) Friend provides support but does not undergo the stressor, (3) Unfamiliar Peer and Target undergo the stressor, and (4) Alone (no partner).
Detailed Description
Adolescents experience social evaluation stress frequently. However, it is likely that often they are not alone, but with friends who are also going through the same experience. Thus, it is possible that under these conditions, social buffering by friends does not wane over the peripubertal period. Participants will be assigned to social conditions while engaging in an evaluative stressor task.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel
- Primary Purpose
- Basic Science
- Masking
- None
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 11 Years to 14 Years (Child)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
- •sufficient vision, hearing, and language skills to provide verbal and written assent
- •ability to see and read stimuli presented on the computer screen
- •ability to hear verbal instructions provided by the experimenter and judges
Exclusion Criteria
- •premature birth (less than 37 weeks)
- •congenital and/or chromosomal disorders (e.g. cerebral palsy, FAS, mental retardation, Turner Syndrome, Down Syndrome, Fragile X)
- •Autism Spectrum Disorders
- •history of serious medical illness (e.g., cancer, organ transplant)
- •serious psychiatric illness
- •systemic glucocorticoids or beta-adrenergic medication use
Arms & Interventions
Experimental: Alone
There are four conditions: (1) Friend and Target both undergo the stressor, (2) Friend provides support but does not undergo the stressor, (3) Unfamiliar Peer and Target undergo the stressor, and (4) Alone (no partner).
Intervention: alone (Other)
Experimental: Friend and Target Both
There are four conditions: (1) Friend and Target both undergo the stressor, (2) Friend provides support but does not undergo the stressor, (3) Unfamiliar Peer and Target undergo the stressor, and (4) Alone (no partner).
Intervention: Friend and target (Other)
Experimental: Friend Provides Support
There are four conditions: (1) Friend and Target both undergo the stressor, (2) Friend provides support but does not undergo the stressor, (3) Unfamiliar Peer and Target undergo the stressor, and (4) Alone (no partner).
Intervention: Friend support (Other)
Experimental: Unfamiliar Peer and Target
There are four conditions: (1) Friend and Target both undergo the stressor, (2) Friend provides support but does not undergo the stressor, (3) Unfamiliar Peer and Target undergo the stressor, and (4) Alone (no partner).
Intervention: unfamiliar peer and target (Other)
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Cortisol AUCi
Time Frame: 2 hours
Cortisol response to the TSST, measured as Area Under the Curve, increase from baseline. 7 Samples were taken during the course of the assessment, at (1) arrival for training purposes; (2) after the calming video, 30 minutes after arrival; (3) after 5 minutes of speech preparation; (4) after 10+minutes of speech and math performance; (5) 15 minutes after sample 4; (6) 10 minutes after sample 5; (7) 10 minutes after sample 6. Area under the curve at intercept (AUCi) is calculated using samples 2-7 with sample 2 as the intercept.
sAA AUCi
Time Frame: 2 hours
Salivary Alpha Amylase response to the TSST, measured as Area Under the Curve, increase from baseline. 7 Samples were taken during the course of the assessment, at (1) arrival for training purposes; (2) after the calming video, 30 minutes after arrival; (3) after 5 minutes of speech preparation; (4) after 10+minutes of speech and math performance; (5) 15 minutes after sample 4; (6) 10 minutes after sample 5; (7) 10 minutes after sample 6. Of those, samples (2, 4, 5) are assayed for salivary alpha amylase (sAA) in micrograms per milliliter. Area under the curve at intercept (AUCi) is calculated using samples 2, 4, 5 with sample 2 as the intercept.
Secondary Outcomes
- Self Report of Stress(2 hours)