A Longitudinal Study of the Effects of Child-Reported Maternal Warmth on Cortisol Stress Response 15 Years After Parental Divorce

Abstract

Objectives: The experience of parental divorce during childhood is associated with an increased risk of behavioral and physical health problems. Alterations in adrenocortical activity may be a mechanism in this relation. Parent-child relationships have been linked to cortisol regulation in children exposed to adversity, but prospective research is lacking. We examined maternal warmth in adolescence as a predictor of young adults' cortisol stress response 15 years after parental divorce.

Methods: Participants included 240 youth from recently divorced families. Mother and child reports of maternal warmth were assessed at 6 time points across childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. Offspring salivary cortisol was measured in young adulthood before and after a social stress task. Structural equation modeling was used to predict cortisol response from maternal warmth across early and late adolescence.

Results: Higher child-reported maternal warmth in early adolescence predicted higher child-reported maternal warmth in late adolescence (standardized regression = 0.45, standard error = 0.065, p < .01), which predicted lower cortisol response to a challenging interpersonal task in young adulthood (standardized regression = -0.20, standard error = 0.094, p = .031). Neither mother-reported warmth in early adolescence nor late adolescence was significantly related to offspring cortisol response in young adulthood.

Conclusions: Results suggest that for children from divorced families, a warm mother-child relationship after divorce and across development, as perceived by the child, may promote efficient biological regulation later in life.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01407120.

Figures

Figure 1

Prediction of offspring cortisol in young adulthood by maternal warmth in early and late adolescence, controlling for current maternal warmth1 1 Unstandardized model results shown; estimates and standard errors. Error terms and covariances and not shown. “W1-W4” = waves 1-4. “mat. warmth” = maternal warmth. “adol” = adolescence. “AUCg” = cortisol AUCg. Results for child report are shown above the lines; results for mother report are shown below the lines. Significant estimates are in bold font.