| The present study investigated the association between internalizing symptoms and physiological reactivity in a sample of 73 adolescents. The adolescents engaged in a stressor task, involving a 15-minute discussion with their parents, after which subjective distress was assessed. Saliva samples were collected before the stressor task and over a 70-minute period post-stressor, and were assayed for salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase as indices of the HPA axis and SAM system, respectively. Results demonstrate a negative main effect of internalizing symptoms and a positive main effect of subjective distress on HPA activity. Internalizing symptoms moderated the association between subjective distress and HPA reactivity. These findings suggest that attenuated physiological stress is part of a protective reaction to the effects of chronic HPA activation. The present study has important implications for the understanding of how mental health and physical health influence one another during adolescence. |
