TY  - JOUR
A1  - Plener, Paul L.
A1  - Zohsel, Katrin
A1  - Hohm, Erika
A1  - Buchmann, Arlette F.
A1  - Banaschewski, T.
A1  - Zimmermann, Ulrich S.
A1  - Laucht, Manfred
T1  - Lower cortisol level in response to a psychosocial stressor in young females with self-harm
JF  - Psychoneuroendocrinology
N2  - Background: Self-harm is highly prevalent in adolescence, often serving an emotion regulation function. Social stressors such as bullying are associated with self-harm. The neurobiological background of the relationship between social stressors and self-harm needs to be further understood to inform prevention and therapy. Methods: Participants were members of an epidemiological cohort study. 130 female participants underwent the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) at age 19. Of them, 21 reported a history of self-harm as assessed by the Youth Self Report. Psychiatric diagnoses were recorded. Results: Participants with a history of self-harm showed significantly lower blood cortisol levels throughout the TSST. Early psychosocial adversity did not significantly differ between groups with and without self-harm, with self-harming participants reporting more childhood adversities. Conclusion: These results add to the limited field of studies showing an altered HPA axis activity in females with self-harm. Future studies need to address the causal mechanisms behind this association.
KW  - Self-harm
KW  - Trier Social Stress Test
KW  - TSST
KW  - Cortisol
KW  - Nonsuicidal self-injury
Y1  - 2016
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.11.009
SN  - 0306-4530
VL  - 76
SP  - 84
EP  - 87
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - Oxford
ER  -