Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. While studies have explored how modifications to the TSST influence stress responsivity, few studies have created a modified TSST appropriate for vulnerable youth that elicits a significant cortisol stress response.
Thus, the current study sought to modify or adjust the TSST in a culturally sensitive way for a vulnerable sample of 14 year-old adolescents. These youths also have experienced significant early life adversity.
Example modifications included timed prompts, alternative math tasks, use of same-ethnicity peers as confederates, debriefing immediately after the conclusion of the TSST, and using an unknown youth examiner to administer the debrief.
Saliva samples were collected at baseline after a resting phase , and then again at 15, 30, and 45 min post-TSST onset to assess cortisol concentration. Results confirmed that this modified version of the TSST was successful at eliciting a significant cortisol reaction, with a wide range of variability likely due to individual differences. Goals for modifications and ethnicity considerations are discussed. This study provides the foundation for future research to utilize a modified TSST with vulnerable youth.
Download video stream. It is a well-validated and widely used social stressor that has been shown to induce a fold increase in cortisol, the biological output produced by the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal HPA axis 1 , 3. Adolescence may be a key period of time when SET is especially stressful, marked by a sensitive period of development, whereby social interactions facilitate learning 4.
