The longitudinal impact of exposure to violence on cortisol reactivity in adolescents.

Purpose: The purpose of this report is to examine the effect of exposure to violence (ETV) on cortisol reactivity (CR) in children with no identified serious mental health problems or reports of maltreatment. ETV was hypothesized to influence development of the stress system in this sample of youth as has been demonstrated in maltreated youth.

Methods: The sample consisted of 124 adolescents aged 8-13 years. Data were collected at two waves of measurement 12 months apart. ETV was operationalized as the number of different violent events each child was exposed to as a witness or victim. CR was evaluated in relation to the Trier Social Stress Test for Children.

Results: ETV occurring during the 12 months before the first assessment was predictive of CR 12 months later in boys, even after controlling for age and Time 1 symptoms of psychopathology, CR, and lifetime ETV. Lifetime ETV at Time 1 was positively correlated with symptoms of major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder in both sexes.

Conclusions: The unique aspect of the current findings is that typically research studying the effects of ETV is conducted with a clinical or maltreated sample. The findings show that recent ETV has an effect on reactions to a laboratory stressor and has longer-term negative mental health consequences. Further study is needed to determine whether these effects are enduring or a shorter-term adaptive response to ETV.