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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Psychology

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Open Access Dissertations

Theses/Dissertations

Cortisol

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Newlywed Couples' Marital Satisfaction And Patterns Of Cortisol Reactivity And Recovery As A Response To Differential Marital Power, Mattitiyahu Scott Zimbler May 2012

Newlywed Couples' Marital Satisfaction And Patterns Of Cortisol Reactivity And Recovery As A Response To Differential Marital Power, Mattitiyahu Scott Zimbler

Open Access Dissertations

This study investigated the extent to which gender moderates, and perceptions of fairness mediate, the link between marital power and overall marital satisfaction, as well as cortisol stress trajectories in response to marital distress. Study 1 examined a sample of 213 opposite sex newlywed couples from western Massachusetts, and focused on marital satisfaction as the dependent variable. Findings from the structural equation analysis suggested that perceptions of relationship fairness concerning the division of labor completely mediated the association between marital power and marital satisfaction for wives, but not for husbands. These results also implied an association between wives' perceptions of …


The Interaction Between Endogenous Cortisol And Salivary Alpha-Amylase Predicts Implicit Cognitive Bias In Young Women, Donna Ann Kreher Sep 2011

The Interaction Between Endogenous Cortisol And Salivary Alpha-Amylase Predicts Implicit Cognitive Bias In Young Women, Donna Ann Kreher

Open Access Dissertations

Both animal and human studies suggest that cognitive bias toward negative information, such as that observed in major depression, may arise through the interaction of cortisol (CORT) and norepinephrine (NE) within the amygdala. To date, there is no published account of the relationship between endogenous NE and CORT levels and cognitive bias. The present study examined salivary CORT and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA), an indirect measure of NE, in relation to masked affective priming of words in young female participants. Women with higher salivary CORT showed increased priming to negative word pairs only when sAA was also high; when sAA was …


An Examination Of Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Reactivity As A Partial Mediator Of The Relation Between Trauma And Self-Injurious Behavior, Eileen Katherine Bent Sep 2010

An Examination Of Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Reactivity As A Partial Mediator Of The Relation Between Trauma And Self-Injurious Behavior, Eileen Katherine Bent

Open Access Dissertations

Past work has linked self-injurious behavior (SIB) to a history of traumatic experiences and to problems regulating affect. While this affect dysregulation is conceptualized as occurring at a biological (as well as a behavioral) level, relatively little is known about the biological mechanisms involved. The current study explored whether reactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis to an interpersonal stressor mediated the relation between trauma and SIB in a sample of 178 18-21 year-old heterosexual dating couples. As predicted, both trauma experience and symptoms positively predicted SIB. While the mediating model was not supported, SIB was associated with an HPA axis …