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).
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
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
269
random assignment to Friend and Target Both condition
random assignment to Friend Provides Support condition
random assignment to Unfamiliar Peer and Target condition
random assignment to Alone condition
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
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.
Time frame: 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.
Time frame: 2 hours
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.
Time frame: 2 hours
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