Salivary Cortisol and Social Status among Dominican Men

ISSN： 0018-506X

Source： Hormones and Behavior, Vol.38, Iss.1, 2000-08, pp. : 29-38

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Abstract

Studies of nonhuman primates indicate that social subordinance associates with chronic elevated cortisol, but this finding has not been replicated among humans. This topic was examined in a study of 31 healthy adult male Dominican villagers ages 17 to 49 years. Each subject's mean cortisol level was calculated using multiple time-standardized salivary cortisol samples (minimum = 6, mean = 14.8 samples per subject) determined by radioimmunoassay. Semistructured ethnographic interviews were used to collect several measures of social status. Data were analyzed with a backward stepwise multivariate linear regression model. Partial regression statistics revealed four significant associations with cortisol: (i) men with reputations for illicit social behavior had higher cortisol; (ii) men who reported more frequent distressed mood had higher cortisol; (iii) men rated as less trustworthy, agreeable, influential, and helpful by their peers had higher cortisol; and (iv) men whose fathers were absent as a childhood caretaker had higher cortisol. No associations were found between cortisol and (a) a composite of educational attainment, income, and material wealth; (b) frequency of tobacco consumption; (c) frequency of perceived social stressors; or (d) a composite of number of children and dependents.