Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007 Summer;19(3):787-809.
doi: 10.1017/S0954579407000399.

Personality, adrenal steroid hormones, and resilience in maltreated children: a multilevel perspective

Dante Cicchetti  1 , Fred A Rogosch
Affiliations

Personality, adrenal steroid hormones, and resilience in maltreated children: a multilevel perspective

Dante Cicchetti et al. Dev Psychopathol. 2007 Summer.

Abstract

In this multilevel investigation, resilience in adaptive functioning among maltreated and nonmaltreated low-income children (N = 677) was examined in relation to the regulation of two stress-responsive adrenal steroid hormones, cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), as well as the personality constructs of ego resiliency and ego control. Maltreatment status was not related to differences in average levels of morning or afternoon cortisol or DHEA. However, lower morning cortisol was related to higher resilient functioning, but only in nonmaltreated children. In contrast, among physically abused children, high morning cortisol was related to higher resilient functioning. Morning and afternoon DHEA was negatively related to resilient functioning. Although diurnal change in cortisol was not related to resilience, for DHEA, maltreated children with high resilience showed an atypical rise in DHEA from morning to afternoon. Morning and afternoon cortisol/DHEA ratios were positively related to resilient functioning, but did not interact with maltreatment status. Ego resiliency and ego control strongly differentiated maltreated and nonmaltreated children, and the personality variables were substantially predictive of resilience. When considered together, demonstrated effects of personality, cortisol, and DHEA maintained independent contributions in predicting resilience among high-risk youth.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Interaction of maltreatment status and morning cortisol levels in relation to resilient functioning scores.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Interaction of maltreatment subtype groups and morning cortisol levels in relation to resilient functioning scores.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Diurnal variation in DHEA for maltreated and nonmaltreated children in different resilience groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Achenbach T. Manual for the Teacher Report Form and 1991 Profile. Burlington: Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont; 1991.
    1. Barnett D, Manly JT, Cicchetti D. Defining child maltreatment: The interface between policy and research. In: Cicchetti D, Toth SL, editors. Child abuse, child development, and social policy. Norwood, NJ: Ablex; 1993. pp. 7–73.
    1. Block J, Block JH. The California Child Q-set. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press; 1969/1980.
    1. Bolger KE, Patterson CJ. Developmental pathways from child maltreatment to peer rejection. Child Development. 2001;72:549–568. - PubMed
    1. Bolger KE, Patterson CJ, Kupersmidt JB. Peer relationships and self-esteem among children who have been maltreated. Child Development. 1998;69:1171–1197. - PubMed

Publication types