Cortisol and vagal tone responses to competitive challenge in preschoolers: Associations with temperament

Sixty-one 3- to 5-year-old nursery school children participated in a study of temperament and stress responses to competition. Each child individually participated in a competition against a familiar adult experimenter to det ermine who would win enough games to receive a prize. After initially winni ng three games (Win Period), the children lost the next three games (Lose P eriod), before winning the final games and receiving the prize. Salivary co rtisol, vagal tone, affect and turn-taking behavior were measured in respon se to the competition and examined in relation to child temperament using a teacher-report version of the Child Behavior Questionnaire. Behavioral mea sures indicated that the procedures were emotionally engaging and the threa t of losing was aversive. Surgency (extroversion) was positively correlated with positive affect during Win periods and tense/angry affect during the Lose period of the competition. Vagal tone decreased as the children began to play against the adult and children who were more tense/angry while losi ng showed additional suppression of vagal tone when they began to lose the competition. Most of the children did riot show a cortisol response to the- competition; however the 15% who increased cortisol (responses >1 SD of cla ssroom baselines) were described by teachers as more surgent and lower in e ffortful control. All but one of these children who increased in cortisol w as male. Cortisol responsive children also displayed higher levels of tense /angry affect during the Lose period. Surgent, extroverted children appear to be vulnerable to competition stress. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. De v Psychobiol 37: 209-220, 2000.