Does Social Buffering Continue to be Effective Over the Peripubertal Period When Friends Share the Stressor Experience?

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).

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Adolescent Behavior; Social Stress
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Friend and target; Other: Friend support; Other: unfamiliar peer and target; Other: alone

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 Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 269
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Minnesota
    • Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55455
      • University of Minnesota

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 11 years to 14 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

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

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

4

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: 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).	Other: Friend and target; random assignment to Friend and Target Both condition
Experimental: 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).	Other: Friend support; random assignment to Friend Provides Support condition
Experimental: 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).	Other: unfamiliar peer and target; random assignment to Unfamiliar Peer and Target condition
Experimental: 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).	Other: alone; random assignment to Alone condition

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Cortisol AUCi	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.	2 hours
sAA AUCi	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.	2 hours

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Self Report of Stress	Self-report of stress using a Likert-type scale with 5 levels of stress felt: (1) Not At All, (2) A Little, (3) Some, (4) A Lot, (5) A Whole Lot. Level of stress was reported for at these points during the assessment: (1) How stressed did you feel when you first connected on the video call and saw the experimenter?, (2) How stressful was the period of time before we started the video?, (3) How stressful did you feel while watching the video?, (4) How stressful was the period of time when you were preparing your speech and thinking about what to say?, (5) How stressful was giving the speech?, (6) How stressful was the math portion?, (7) How stressed do you feel now, after the speech and math portions are done? Self reported stress was computed as the mean of items (4, 5, 6) - item 1.	2 hours

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Hours Since Awakening. Potential Covariate	Participants report the number of hours between waking up on the day of assessment and the start of the TSST test. This is only a potential covariate for cortisol, which follows a circadian rhythm.	day of testing session
Pretax Family Income. Potential Covariate	Parents report on gross family income on an 11-point ordinal scale: (1) Less than $15,000, (2) $15,001 to $25,000, (3) $25,001 to $35,000, (4) $35,001 to $50,000, (5) $50,001 to $75,000, (6) $75,001 to $100,000, (7) $100,001 to $125,000, (8) $125,001 to $150,000, (9) $150,001 to $175,000, (10) $175,001 to 200,000, (11) $200,001 or more	calendar year previous to TSST session
Parental Average Education Level. Potential Covariate	Parents report education level for both parents on a 6-point ordinal scale: (1) Less than high school degree, (2) High school or GED, (3) Associate degree, college academia program, (4) Bachelor's degree, (5) Master's degree, (6) Professional and/or Doctorate degree. Average of parents' education is calculated and reported.	lifetime
Number of Adults in the Home. Potential Covariate	Parents report on how many adults are living in the home.	day of TSST session
Caffeine or Nicotine Use. Potential Covariate	Youth report on whether they consumed caffeine or nicotine in the 1-2 hours prior to the TSST assessment. Coded as no=0, yes=1. Used as a potential covariate for heart rate and neuroendocrine measures.	1-2 hours prior to TSST session
Granger Score. Potential Covariate	The Granger score (ordinal, modeled continuously) is a score based on work by Doug Granger of medications that can affect activity of the HPA axis, weighted by significance of potential impact (Granger, Hibel, Fortunato, & Kapelewski, 2009). Each medication taken is given a score of 0, 1, or 2, and all medication scores for a participant is summed, resulting in scores from 0 to infinity. Lower scores are less likely to influence cortisol. Potential Covariate	day of 2 hour TSST session
Quality of Relationship With Primary Parent, BSV Positive Attachment Scale. Potential Covariate	Network of Relationships Inventory (NRI) reported by youth for their primary parent on how much they experience various emotions or incidents (e.g. How much free time do you spend with this person?), reported on a 5-point scale: (1) Little or None, (2) Somewhat, (3) Very Much, (4) Extremely Much, (5) The Most. Mean scores calculated from all positive attachment items, range 1-5. Potential Covariate. This self report reflects the general current state of the relationship, without a specific timeframe, and was obtained during the TSST session.	2 hour TSST session
Quality of Relationship With Close Friend, BSV Positive Attachment Scale. Potential Covariate	Network of Relationships Inventory (NRI) reported by youth for their close friend on how much they experience various emotions or incidents (e.g. How much free time do you spend with this person?), reported on a 5-point scale: (1) Little or None, (2) Somewhat, (3) Very Much, (4) Extremely Much, (5) The Most. Mean scores calculated from all positive attachment items, ranging 1-5. Potential Covariate. This self report reflects the general current state of the relationship, without a specific timeframe, and was obtained during the TSST session.	2 hour TSST session
Peer Acceptance/Rejection. Potential Covariate	Scale on the MacArthur Health and Behavior Questionnaire, 5pt scale (1-5), high scores indicate peer acceptance. This report reflects the general current state of the youth, without a specific timeframe, and was obtained during the TSST session.	2 hour TSST session
Behavioral Inhibition. Potential Covariate	Scale on the MacArthur Health and Behavior Questionnaire, 3pt scale (0,1,2), high scores indicate inhibition. This report reflects the general current state of the youth, without a specific timeframe, and was obtained during the TSST session.	2 hour TSST session
Internalizing Symptoms. Potential Covariate	Higher order measure from the MacArthur Health and Behavior Questionnaire, 3pt scale (0,1,2), high scores indicate Internalizing. This report reflects the general current state of the youth, without a specific timeframe, and was obtained during the TSST session.	2 hour TSST session
Externalizing Symptoms. Potential Covariate	Higher order measure from the MacArthur Health and Behavior Questionnaire, 3pt scale (0,1,2), high scores indicate externalizing. This report reflects the general current state of the youth, without a specific timeframe, and was obtained during the TSST session.	2 hour TSST session

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Minnesota
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Megan Gunnar, PhD, University of Minnesota; Principal Investigator: Kathleen Thomas, PhD, University of Minnesota

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 25, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 24, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): June 24, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 13, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 13, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): March 17, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 2, 2025
• Last Verified: February 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY00006378-3

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No