DIFFERENCES BETWEEN JAPANESE INFANTS AND CAUCASIAN AMERICAN INFANTS IN BEHAVIORAL AND CORTISOL RESPONSE TO INOCULATION

The behavioral and cortisol responses of Japanese infants and Caucasia n American infants, 4 months of age, were observed during and followin g routine inoculation. The Caucasian American group showed a more inte nse initial affective response and a longer latency to quiet than the Japanese group; the Japanese group showed a greater cortisol response. A 4-group taxonomy was created based on high or low behavioral and co rtisol response: high behavior-high cortisol, low behavior-low cortiso l, high behavior-low cortisol, and low behavior-high cortisol. There w ere significant differences between the 2 groups of infants using this taxonomy: Infants in the Caucasian American group were more likely to fall in the high behavior-low cortisol group, while infants in the Ja panese group were more likely to fall in the low behavior-high cortiso l group.