Does adverse family environment or sex matter in the salivary cortisol responses to anticipatory stress?

We previously reported that in anticipation of a modest stressor, preadolescent sons of drug-dependent fathers (HR) demonstrated a diminished salivary cortisol response relative to comparison boys. No data were available concerning anticipatory salivary cortisol responses in preadolescent daughters of HR fathers. Additionally, we hypothesized that diminished stress responses in HR youth might be an adaptation to a stressful family environment.