Does Social Buffering Continue to be Effective Over the Peripubertal Period When Friends Share the Stressor Experience?

NCT04311996 | Completed Results

• 1 other identifier: STUDY00006378-3
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 269
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The purpose of this experiment is to determine whether social buffering by friends of stress physiology remains effective later in puberty when friends share the load versus when they provide support but are not undergoing the stressor with the target child. There are four conditions: (1) Friend and Target both undergo the stressor, (2) Friend provides support but does not undergo the stressor, (3) Unfamiliar Peer and Target undergo the stressor, and (4) Alone (no partner).

Conditions

Adolescent Behavior; Social Stress

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Cortisol AUCi

  Cortisol response to the TSST, measured as Area Under the Curve, increase from baseline. 7 Samples were taken during the course of the assessment, at (1) arrival for training purposes; (2) after the calming video, 30 minutes after arrival; (3) after 5 minutes of speech preparation; (4) after 10+minutes of speech and math performance; (5) 15 minutes after sample 4; (6) 10 minutes after sample 5; (7) 10 minutes after sample 6. Area under the curve at intercept (AUCi) is calculated using samples 2-7 with sample 2 as the intercept.

  2 hours

• sAA AUCi

  Salivary Alpha Amylase response to the TSST, measured as Area Under the Curve, increase from baseline. 7 Samples were taken during the course of the assessment, at (1) arrival for training purposes; (2) after the calming video, 30 minutes after arrival; (3) after 5 minutes of speech preparation; (4) after 10+minutes of speech and math performance; (5) 15 minutes after sample 4; (6) 10 minutes after sample 5; (7) 10 minutes after sample 6. Of those, samples (2, 4, 5) are assayed for salivary alpha amylase (sAA) in micrograms per milliliter. Area under the curve at intercept (AUCi) is calculated using samples 2, 4, 5 with sample 2 as the intercept.

  2 hours

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Self Report of Stress

  2 hours

Other Outcomes (12)

• Hours Since Awakening. Potential Covariate

  day of testing session

• Pretax Family Income. Potential Covariate

  calendar year previous to TSST session

• Parental Average Education Level. Potential Covariate

  lifetime

Study Arms (4)

Experimental: Friend and Target Both

EXPERIMENTAL

There are four conditions: (1) Friend and Target both undergo the stressor, (2) Friend provides support but does not undergo the stressor, (3) Unfamiliar Peer and Target undergo the stressor, and (4) Alone (no partner).

Other: Friend and target

Experimental: Friend Provides Support

EXPERIMENTAL

There are four conditions: (1) Friend and Target both undergo the stressor, (2) Friend provides support but does not undergo the stressor, (3) Unfamiliar Peer and Target undergo the stressor, and (4) Alone (no partner).

Other: Friend support

Experimental: Unfamiliar Peer and Target

EXPERIMENTAL

There are four conditions: (1) Friend and Target both undergo the stressor, (2) Friend provides support but does not undergo the stressor, (3) Unfamiliar Peer and Target undergo the stressor, and (4) Alone (no partner).

Other: unfamiliar peer and target

Experimental: Alone

EXPERIMENTAL

There are four conditions: (1) Friend and Target both undergo the stressor, (2) Friend provides support but does not undergo the stressor, (3) Unfamiliar Peer and Target undergo the stressor, and (4) Alone (no partner).

Other: alone

Interventions

Friend and target OTHER

random assignment to Friend and Target Both condition

Experimental: Friend and Target Both

Friend support OTHER

random assignment to Friend Provides Support condition

Experimental: Friend Provides Support

unfamiliar peer and target OTHER

random assignment to Unfamiliar Peer and Target condition

Experimental: Unfamiliar Peer and Target

alone OTHER

random assignment to Alone condition

Experimental: Alone

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 11 Years - 14 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• sufficient vision, hearing, and language skills to provide verbal and written assent
• ability to see and read stimuli presented on the computer screen
• ability to hear verbal instructions provided by the experimenter and judges

You may not qualify if:

• premature birth (less than 37 weeks)
• congenital and/or chromosomal disorders (e.g. cerebral palsy, FAS, mental retardation, Turner Syndrome, Down Syndrome, Fragile X)
• Autism Spectrum Disorders
• history of serious medical illness (e.g., cancer, organ transplant)
• serious psychiatric illness
• systemic glucocorticoids or beta-adrenergic medication use

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Minnesota: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Minnesota

Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55455, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Adolescent Behavior

Interventions

Single Person

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Marital Status; Family Characteristics; Demography; Population Characteristics; Socioeconomic Factors

Limitations and Caveats

Note that while parents consented and completed questionnaires about their family or child, they are never the focus of analysis or considered enrolled in the study. They are consenting to their child's enrollment and reporting on their child's environment, health, and behavior.

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Bonny Donzella
• Organization: University of Minnesota

donzella@umn.edu

6126244351

Study Officials

• Megan Gunnar, PhD

  University of Minnesota

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Kathleen Thomas, PhD

  University of Minnesota

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: Yes

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 13, 2020
• First Posted: March 17, 2020
• Study Start: October 25, 2021
• Primary Completion: June 24, 2023
• Study Completion: June 24, 2023
• Last Updated: February 24, 2025
• Results First Posted: February 24, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-02

Locations

US (1)