Congratulations to Ellen Jopling and her co-authors for publishing their paper titled, “Impact of Loneliness on Diurnal Cortisol in Youth” in Psychoneuroendocrinology!
Ellen and her collaborators examined the prospective association between loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic and diurnal cortisol in early adolescents. They found that greater loneliness was associated with higher levels of cortisol at waking and a blunted cortisol awakening response (CAR). Critically, this pattern of HPA-axis functioning increases risk for adverse mental and physical health outcomes across adolescence and into adulthood. This study is the first to examine the prospective association between loneliness and diurnal cortisol in early adolescence, and the first to identify mechanisms that contribute to biological markers of distress during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read the full article here.