Longitudinal Patterns of Cortisol Regulation Differ in Maltreated and Nonmaltreated Children
Doom JR, Cicchetti D, Rogosch FA. J Am Acad Child Adol Psychiatry. 2014. 53(11): 1206-1215
Early childhood maltreatment can have long-lasting effects, This study of 187 maltreated and 154 non-maltreated children (mean age 8.4 years) showed that the former group had different patterns of cortisol suppression, indicating that they had a blunted stress response. Future studies of interventions for maltreated children may benefit from the assessment of changes in cortisol suppression following treatment in addition to changes in symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder or other clinical indicators.