Correlates of hair cortisol concentrations in disadvantaged young children

Abstract

Children from highly disadvantaged families tend to experience worse health, educational, and job outcomes than less disadvantaged peers. However, the mechanisms underlying these relationships remain to be explicated. In particular, few studies have investigated the relationships between the psychosocial influences that children are exposed to early in life and longer term cortisol output. This study aims to contribute to the literature by exploring how disadvantaged young children's experiences of family adversity, and parenting and family functioning, are related to their long-term cortisol levels. A sample of 60 children (26 males, mean = 4.25 years, SD = 1.68) and their mothers (mean = 3..