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. 2012 Jan;31(1):130-4.
doi: 10.1037/a0025325. Epub 2011 Sep 5.

Daily stress and cortisol patterns in parents of adult children with a serious mental illness

Erin T Barker  1 , Jan S Greenberg, Marsha Mailick Seltzer, David M Almeida
Affiliations

Daily stress and cortisol patterns in parents of adult children with a serious mental illness

Erin T Barker et al. Health Psychol. 2012 Jan.

Abstract

Objective: The goal of the current study was to examine whether parenting an adult child with a serious mental illness (SMI) has a physiological impact on parents.

Method: Multiple samples of saliva were collected on 4 days from 61 parents (mean age = 60.07 years, SD = 10.01) of individuals with a SMI (bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and major depression; mean age = 32.46 years, SD = 10.57) and a comparison group of 321 parents (mean age = 58.09 years, SD = 12.88) of individuals without a SMI (mean age = 32.36; SD = 13.87). Saliva samples were assayed for the hormone cortisol and group differences in diurnal cortisol patterns and their association with daily stress severity were explored.

Results: On days after elevated stress, a hypoactivation pattern of diurnal cortisol suggestive of chronic stress was evident for parents of individuals with a SMI. After more stressful days, cortisol levels increased less from waking to 30 min after waking and declined less from 30 min after waking to bedtime for parents of individuals with a SMI.

Conclusions: The results of the current study add to a growing body of evidence that the long-term effects of parenting an adult with a disability has a biological impact on aging parents and support the need for family interventions across adulthood and into old age for parents of individuals with SMI.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Parent Group Interactions with Previous Day Stress Severity Predicting Daily Cortisol Rhythms (nmol/L)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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