Social Motivation is Associated with Elevated Salivary Cortisol in Boys with an ASD

Title
Social Motivation is Associated with Elevated Salivary Cortisol in Boys with an ASD
Publication Date
2015
Author(s)
Bitsika, Vicki
Sharpley, Christopher
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7922-4848
Email: csharpl3@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:csharpl3
Agnew, Linda
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2803-0995
Email: lagnew2@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:lagnew2
Andronicos, Nicholas
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5881-2296
Email: nandroni@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:nandroni
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Springer New York LLC
Place of publication
United States of America
DOI
10.1007/s10882-015-9457-x
UNE publication id
une:18469
Abstract
Because social communication difficulties and stress are common in children with an ASD, and because it has been hypothesised that the two are related, the association between these two variables was investigated in a sample of 90 boys with an ASD and who were aged between 6 years and 12 years of age. The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) was completed by the parents of these boys about their sons, plus salivary cortisol samples were collected from the boys. Results indicated that only one aspect of the boys' SRS was significantly correlated with cortisol-Social Motivation (SM). Factor analyses revealed two discrete aspects of SM and each showed different patterns of correlations with cortisol across the seven years of primary school. These results suggest that it was the change in social and teaching expectations that contributed to the variability in SM-cortisol correlations rather than the social expectations per se.
Link
Citation
Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 27(6), p. 811-822
ISSN
1573-3580
1056-263X
Start page
811
End page
822

Files:

NameSizeformatDescriptionLink