Psychiatry Res. 2005 Mar 30;134(1):1-10.
Low basal salivary cortisol is associated with teacher-reported symptoms of conduct disorder.
Oosterlaan J, Geurts HM, Knol DL, Sergeant JA.
Department of Clinical Neuropsychology, Faculty of Psychology and Pedagogy, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 1, 1081 BT Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Cortisol has been implicated in psychobiological explanations of antisocial behavior. This study measured basal salivary cortisol in a sample of 25 children (age range 6 to 12 years) selected to vary in levels of antisocial behavior. Regression analyses were used to predict cortisol concentrations from parent- and teacher-reported symptoms. Parent-reported symptoms did not predict basal cortisol. Teacher-reported conduct disorder (CD) symptoms explained 38% of the variance in the cortisol concentrations, with high symptom severity associated with low cortisol. When a distinction was made between aggressive and non-aggressive CD symptoms, aggressive CD symptoms were more clearly related to low cortisol than non-aggressive CD symptoms. In contrast to previous research, no evidence was found for a mediating role of anxiety symptoms in the relationship between CD and cortisol. The results support biologically based models of antisocial behavior in children that involve reduced autonomic activity.

Categories: 2005, Endocrine, Neurosteroids, Adrenal, Cortisol, Aggression, Antisocial behavior, Anxiety, Conduct disorder, Psychiatric, Behavioral, Behavioral problems