THE EFFECTS OF PERCEIVED STRESS, TRAITS, MOOD STATES, AND STRESSFUL DAILY EVENTS ON SALIVARY CORTISOL

This study examined the effects of perceived stress and related indivi dual characteristics, mood states, and stressful daily events on saliv ary cortisol levels. Forty-one ''high stress'' and 46 ''low stress'' s ubjects were selected on the basis of Perceived Stress Scale scores fr om a sample of male, white collar workers. Subjects completed Experien ce Sampling self-reports and collected saliva samples 10 times a day o ver 5 consecutive days. Multilevel analysis revealed that trait anxiet y and depression, but not perceived stress, were associated with small but statistically significant cortisol elevation. No effects on corti sol were found for recent life events, chronic difficulties, trait ang er, or psychosomatic symptoms. Distress, as reflected by the mood stat es Negative Affect and Agitation, was associated with higher cortisol levels, whereas Positive Affect had no statistically significant effec t. Stressful daily events were associated with increased cortisol secr etion, the magnitude of the effect depending on whether the event was still ongoing and on how frequently a similar kind of event had occurr ed previously. Although perceived stress, anxiety, and depression did not increase cortisol reactivity to daily events, we found evidence fo r reduced habituation to recurrent events in subjects scoring high on these traits. Mood appeared to play a mediating role in the relationsh ip between stressful events and cortisol secretion. These results sugg est that negative affectivity is not just a confounder but is related to elevated cortisol secretion during normal daily activities. The fin ding that even minor events and fluctuations in mood states were assoc iated with increased adrenocortical activity points to a possible mech anism linking subjective experience to health outcomes.