Developmental psychobiology · 6 authors, 4 centres
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This longitudinal cohort study analyzed data from a diverse group of young children (mean ages 5 and 6) to see if economic hardship was linked to their hair cortisol levels, a marker of chronic stress. It found that higher baseline economic hardship and cumulative economic hardship over a year were modestly associated with higher hair cortisol at follow-up.
This study used data from 248 to 287 children in the NET-Works trial to examine cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between economic hardship (a composite score of poverty, food insecurity, and financial hardship) and hair cortisol. Economic hardship was measured at baseline (Time 1, mean age 5) and one year later (Time 2, mean age 6). Analyses were adjusted for child age, sex, race/ethnicity, and intervention arm. The key longitudinal finding was that a 1-unit higher economic hardship score at baseline was associated with a 0.07 log-pg/mg higher hair cortisol level at follow-up (95% CI: 0.01, 0.13). Similarly, a 1-unit increase in cumulative economic hardship was associated with a 0.04 log-pg/mg higher hair cortisol at follow-up (95% CI: 0.00, 0.07). The study suggests a modest link between chronic economic stress and a biological stress marker in young children, though evidence is limited. Limitations include a non-generalizable sample from a single metropolitan area, modest sample size, and potential selection bias.
