Hair cortisol concentrations in war-affected adolescents: A prospective intervention trial

Results of a randomized controlled trial to test the impact of an 8-week intervention based on profound stress attunement

Abstract

Temporal examinations of the biological signature of stress or trauma in war-affected populations are seldom undertaken. Moreover, few studies have examined whether stress biomarkers track biological sensitivity to brief interventions targeting the improvement of psychosocial wellbeing. Our study is the first to prospectively examine, in war-affected adolescents, the associations between hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) and self-reports of stress, insecurity, posttraumatic reactions, and lifetime trauma. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to test the impact of an 8-week intervention based on profound stress attunement.

This research was supported by the Research for Health in Humanitarian Crises (R2HC) Programme

Citation

Rana Dajani, Kristin Hadfield, Stan van Uum, Michael Greff, Catherine Panter-Brick, Hair cortisol concentrations in war-affected adolescents: A prospective intervention trial, Psychoneuroendocrinology, Volume 89, 2018, Pages 138-146, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.12.012.

Hair cortisol concentrations in war-affected adolescents: A prospective intervention trial

Published 26 December 2017