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Homotypic and heterotypic continuity of internalizing and externalizing symptoms from ages 3 to 12: The moderating role of diurnal cortisol

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 September 2018

Allison Frost ,
Ellen Kessel ,
Sarah Black ,
Brandon Goldstein ,
Kristin Bernard  and
Daniel N. Klein
Allison Frost*
Affiliation:
Stony Brook University
Ellen Kessel
Affiliation:
Stony Brook University
Sarah Black
Affiliation:
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
Brandon Goldstein
Affiliation:
Stony Brook University
Kristin Bernard
Affiliation:
Stony Brook University
Daniel N. Klein
Affiliation:
Stony Brook University
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Allison Frost, Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794.
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Abstract

Psychological symptoms that arise in early childhood can follow a multitude of patterns into adolescence, including homotypic continuity (i.e., similar symptoms over time) and heterotypic continuity (i.e., a shift in symptoms over time). However, we know very little about the factors that distinguish homotypic vs. heterotypic continuity of early internalizing and externalizing symptoms over development. In a separate line of research, diurnal cortisol has been shown to predict later internalizing and externalizing problems. In the current study, we tested whether diurnal cortisol patterns moderated the course of internalizing and externalizing symptoms from preschool to early adolescence. 554 children (54% male) and parents participated in a longitudinal study. Parents reported on their children’s internalizing and externalizing symptoms at ages 3 and 12, and children collected diurnal saliva samples at age 9. Results showed that a steeper cortisol decline at age 9 combined with high internalizing or externalizing problems at age 3 predicted higher internalizing problems at age 12. A more blunted cortisol decline combined with early internalizing or externalizing problems predicted higher externalizing problems in early adolescence. These results illustrate the moderating role of stress system functioning in homotypic and heterotypic patterns of psychopathology from preschool to early adolescence.

Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 31 , Issue 2 , May 2019 , pp. 789 - 798
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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Footnotes

This work was supported by National Institute of Mental Health grant R01 MH069942 (to D.N.K.) and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship 1315232 (to A.F.).

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