Brief report: Role of cortisol in posttraumatic stress symptoms among mothers of children diagnosed with cancer.

OBJECTIVE To examine the role of cortisol in posttraumatic stress symptomatology among mothers of children newly diagnosed with cancer. METHODS Mothers (N = 27) completed standardized measures of posttraumatic stress symptoms and provided salivary cortisol samples at the time of their child's cancer diagnosis and then monthly for 1 year. RESULTS Random effects regression analyses of 351 person-by-time observations revealed that high levels of cortisol were associated with higher levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms (B = .12, p < .02). The mothers who exhibited higher cortisol levels at the time of their child's diagnosis showed statistically significant declines in symptomatology from diagnosis to 12 months postdiagnosis (B = .97, p < .0001) compared to mothers who exhibited lower cortisol levels at diagnosis (B = .003, p < .05). CONCLUSIONS These findings offer some suggestions into possible neurobiological processes underlying posttraumatic stress symptoms and directions for future research and clinical intervention.