{"title":"The interplay between cortisol and oxytocin in aggressive adolescents: The role of trauma.","authors":"Kalista Meulenbeek, Iro Fragkaki, Flavia Spagnuolo, Luca Frankenberger, Maaike Cima","doi":"10.1002/jts.23161","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The neuroendocrine profile of aggressive adolescents shows inconsistencies, potentially influenced by trauma exposure. Specifically, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-oxytocinergic circuitry may vary among aggressive youth based on past trauma exposure, with a positive interplay between cortisol and oxytocin in those with higher levels of trauma, as a result of the simultaneous hormone release to cope with trauma-related stress. To explore this hypothesis, this study collected saliva samples at three time points (morning, afternoon, and evening) over 2 consecutive days from male adolescents (N = 57, M<sub>age</sub> = 17.95 years, SD = 2.44) in residential youth care facilities. In addition, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire was administered to assess the presence and frequency of trauma exposure. A linear mixed-effects model showed a significant interaction effect, B = 0.06, p = .015, ΔR<sup>2</sup> = .013, with simple-slope analysis showing a positive association between cortisol and oxytocin in residential youth with higher levels of childhood trauma exposure, B = 0.08, p = .007, but not those with lower levels of trauma exposure, consistent with our predictions. These findings suggest a possible compensatory mechanism in response to trauma and emphasize the need to consider trauma exposure when further investigating the neuroendocrine profile of aggression.</p>","PeriodicalId":17519,"journal":{"name":"Journal of traumatic stress","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of traumatic stress","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.23161","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PSYCHIATRY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The neuroendocrine profile of aggressive adolescents shows inconsistencies, potentially influenced by trauma exposure. Specifically, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-oxytocinergic circuitry may vary among aggressive youth based on past trauma exposure, with a positive interplay between cortisol and oxytocin in those with higher levels of trauma, as a result of the simultaneous hormone release to cope with trauma-related stress. To explore this hypothesis, this study collected saliva samples at three time points (morning, afternoon, and evening) over 2 consecutive days from male adolescents (N = 57, Mage = 17.95 years, SD = 2.44) in residential youth care facilities. In addition, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire was administered to assess the presence and frequency of trauma exposure. A linear mixed-effects model showed a significant interaction effect, B = 0.06, p = .015, ΔR2 = .013, with simple-slope analysis showing a positive association between cortisol and oxytocin in residential youth with higher levels of childhood trauma exposure, B = 0.08, p = .007, but not those with lower levels of trauma exposure, consistent with our predictions. These findings suggest a possible compensatory mechanism in response to trauma and emphasize the need to consider trauma exposure when further investigating the neuroendocrine profile of aggression.
期刊介绍:
Journal of Traumatic Stress (JTS) is published for the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. Journal of Traumatic Stress , the official publication for the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, is an interdisciplinary forum for the publication of peer-reviewed original papers on biopsychosocial aspects of trauma. Papers focus on theoretical formulations, research, treatment, prevention education/training, and legal and policy concerns. Journal of Traumatic Stress serves as a primary reference for professionals who study and treat people exposed to highly stressful and traumatic events (directly or through their occupational roles), such as war, disaster, accident, violence or abuse (criminal or familial), hostage-taking, or life-threatening illness. The journal publishes original articles, brief reports, review papers, commentaries, and, from time to time, special issues devoted to a single topic.