Anna Parenteau

All Publications

• Adolescents' hair cortisol concentrations during COVID-19: Evidence from two longitudinal studies in the Netherlands and the United States DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOBIOLOGY Vacaru, S. V., Parenteau, A. M., Yi, S., Silvers, J. A., Hostinar, C. E., de Weerth, C. 2023; 65 (8): e22438

  Abstract

  Prolonged stress exposure is associated with alterations in cortisol output. The COVID-19 pandemic represented a stressor for many, including children. However, a high-quality caregiving environment may protect against psychological problems and possibly against elevations in cortisol. We examined adolescents' physiological stress responses to the pandemic and the role of attachment in two longitudinal samples from the Netherlands and the United States (https://aspredicted.org/HHY_8MK).Cortisol was assessed from hair samples before and during the pandemic, while attachment was self-reported prepandemic. Study 1 included a Dutch sample (N = 158; examined at ages 10 and later at 14 years old), whereas Study 2 included a US sample (N = 153; examined at ages 9-11 and again 2 years later) and an age-matched prepandemic sample (N = 29, 10-13 years old). Repeated-measures analyses of variance examined changes in cortisol from prepandemic to during the pandemic and the effect of attachment in each sample separately.After accounting for age, both studies revealed nonsignificant changes in hair cortisol and a nonsignificant effect of attachment. A significant effect of sex emerged in Study 1, with Dutch girls showing a significant cortisol increase during the pandemic, which was not explained by puberty.These findings suggest differential associations of the pandemic with hair cortisol increases by sex and country.

  View details for DOI 10.1002/dev.22438

  View details for Web of Science ID 001089756400001

  View details for PubMedID 38010307

• A review of mental health disparities during COVID-19: Evidence, mechanisms, and policy recommendations for promoting societal resilience DEVELOPMENT AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY Parenteau, A. M., Boyer, C. J., Campos, L. J., Carranza, A. F., Deer, L. K., Hartman, D. T., Bidwell, J. T., Hostinar, C. E. 2023; 35 (4): 1821-1842

  Abstract

  Social and economic inequality are chronic stressors that continually erode the mental and physical health of marginalized groups, undermining overall societal resilience. In this comprehensive review, we synthesize evidence of greater increases in mental health symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic among socially or economically marginalized groups in the United States, including (a) people who are low income or experiencing homelessness, (b) racial and ethnic minorities, (c) women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ+) communities, (d) immigrants and migrants, (e) children and people with a history of childhood adversity, and (f) the socially isolated and lonely. Based on this evidence, we propose that reducing social and economic inequality would promote population mental health and societal resilience to future crises. Specifically, we propose concrete, actionable recommendations for policy, intervention, and practice that would bolster five "pillars" of societal resilience: (1) economic safety and equity, (2) accessible healthcare, including mental health services, (3) combating racial injustice and promoting respect for diversity, equity, and inclusion, (4) child and family protection services, and (5) social cohesion. Although the recent pandemic exposed and accentuated steep inequalities within our society, efforts to rebuild offer the opportunity to re-envision societal resilience and policy to reduce multiple forms of inequality for our collective benefit.

  View details for DOI 10.1017/S0954579422000499

  View details for Web of Science ID 000853243000001

  View details for PubMedID 36097815

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC10008755

• Associations of air pollution with peripheral inflammation and cardiac autonomic physiology in children NEW DIRECTIONS FOR CHILD AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT Parenteau, A. M., Alen, N., La, J., Luck, A. T., Teichrow, D. J., Daang, E. M., Nissen, A. T., Deer, L. K., Hostinar, C. E. 2022; 2022 (181-182): 125-154

  Abstract

  Climate change-related disasters have drawn increased attention to the impact of air pollution on health. 122 children ages 9-11 years old, M(SD) = 9.91(.56), participated. Levels of particulate matter (PM2.5) near participants' homes were obtained from the Environmental Protection Agency. Cytokines were assayed from 100 child serum samples: IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and TNFα. Autonomic physiology was indexed by pre-ejection period (PEP), respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), cardiac autonomic regulation (CAR), and cardiac autonomic balance (CAB). IL-6 was positively related to daily PM2.5 (r = .26, p = .009). IL-8 was negatively associated with monthly PM2.5 (r = -.23, p = .02). PEP was positively related to daily (r = .29, p = .001) and monthly PM2.5 (r = .18, p = .044). CAR was negatively associated with daily PM2.5 (r = -.29, p = .001). IL-10, TNFα, RSA, and CAB were not associated with PM2.5. Air pollution may increase risk of inflammation in children.

  View details for DOI 10.1002/cad.20474

  View details for Web of Science ID 000835414200001

  View details for PubMedID 35921508

• Prevent Over-fitting and Redundancy in Physiological Signal Analyses for Stress Detection Fang, R., Zhang, R., Hosseini, E., Parenteau, A. M., Hang, S., Rafatirad, S., Hostinar, C. E., Orooji, M., Homayoun, H. edited by Adjeroh, D., Long, Q., Shi, Guo, F., Hu, Aluru, S., Narasimhan, G., Wang, J., Kang, M., Mondal, A. M., Liu, J. IEEE. 2022: 2585-2588

  View details for DOI 10.1109/BIBM55620.2022.9995121

  View details for Web of Science ID 001479658300431

• A Low Cost EDA-based Stress Detection Using Machine Learning Hosseini, E., Fang, R., Zhang, R., Parenteau, A., Hang, S., Rafatirad, S., Hostinar, C., Orooji, M., Homayoun, H. edited by Adjeroh, D., Long, Q., Shi, Guo, F., Hu, Aluru, S., Narasimhan, G., Wang, J., Kang, M., Mondal, A. M., Liu, J. IEEE. 2022: 2619-2623

  View details for DOI 10.1109/BIBM55620.2022.9995093

  View details for Web of Science ID 001479658300436

• Multimodal assessment of sustained threat in adolescents with nonsuicidal self-injury DEVELOPMENT AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY Basgoze, Z., Mirza, S. A., Silamongkol, T., Hill, D., Falke, C., Thai, M., Westlund Schreiner, M., Parenteau, A. M., Roediger, D. J., Hendrickson, T. J., Mueller, B. A., Fiecas, M. B., Klimes-Dougan, B., Cullen, K. R. 2021; 33 (5): 1774-1792

  Abstract

  Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a common but poorly understood phenomenon in adolescents. This study examined the Sustained Threat domain in female adolescents with a continuum of NSSI severity (N = 142). Across NSSI lifetime frequency and NSSI severity groups (No + Mild NSSI, Moderate NSSI, Severe NSSI), we examined physiological, self-reported and observed stress during the Trier Social Stress Test; amygdala volume; amygdala responses to threat stimuli; and resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) between amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Severe NSSI showed a blunted pattern of cortisol response, despite elevated reported and observed stress during TSST. Severe NSSI showed lower amygdala-mPFC RSFC; follow-up analyses suggested that this was more pronounced in those with a history of suicide attempt for both moderate and severe NSSI. Moderate NSSI showed elevated right amygdala activation to threat; multiple regressions showed that, when considered together with low amygdala-mPFC RSFC, higher right but lower left amygdala activation predicted NSSI severity. Patterns of interrelationships among Sustained Threat measures varied substantially across NSSI severity groups, and further by suicide attempt history. Study limitations include the cross-sectional design, missing data, and sampling biases. Our findings highlight the value of multilevel approaches in understanding the complexity of neurobiological mechanisms in adolescent NSSI.

  View details for DOI 10.1017/S0954579421000754

  View details for Web of Science ID 000727562300020

  View details for PubMedID 34486502

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC8898324

• Heart rate variability and circulating inflammatory markers in midlife BRAIN BEHAVIOR & IMMUNITY-HEALTH Alen, N. V., Parenteau, A. M., Sloan, R. P., Hostinar, C. E. 2021; 15

  Abstract

  Theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence suggest that the parasympathetic nervous system engages in active monitoring and moderating of inflammatory processes. A clearer understanding of the bidirectional communication between the parasympathetic nervous system and the immune system could lead to novel clinical interventions for inflammatory illnesses. The current study used a large (N = 836) nationally representative sample of adults in the United States to investigate the relations between resting parasympathetic modulation of the heart, indexed through both high frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV) and low frequency heart rate variability (LF-HRV), and six markers of circulating inflammation. Statistical analyses revealed robust inverse relations between HF-HRV and interleukin-6 (IL6), C-reactive protein (CRP), and fibrinogen, with or without covariate adjustment. Similar inverse relations were observed between LF-HRV and IL6 and CRP. No significant relations were observed between HRV and either inflammatory adhesion molecules (E-selectin, intracellular adhesion molecule-1) or soluble IL6 receptor. Results are consistent with the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway and suggest that parasympathetic modulation of inflammation through the vagus nerve may act on specific inflammatory molecules more than others.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.bbih.2021.100273

  View details for Web of Science ID 001062480600013

  View details for PubMedID 34268499

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC8277115

• Parenting matters: Parents can reduce or amplify children's anxiety and cortisol responses to acute stress Parenteau, A. M., Alen, N. V., Deer, L. K., Nissen, A. T., Luck, A. T., Hostinar, C. E. CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS. 2020: 1799-1809

  Abstract

  Parents serve important functions in regulating children's responses to stress and challenge. However, the parental characteristics that modulate the effectiveness of parents as stress buffers remain to be fully characterized. To address this gap, this study examined parental characteristics and behaviors that may explain variation in parents' ability to buffer cortisol responses to acute stress of 180 children (ages 9-11 years old, M = 9.9 years, SD = .58). Children were randomly assigned to either participate in a public speaking task, the Trier Social Stress Test - modified for children (TSST-M) or a control condition. Children in the TSST-M condition were randomly assigned to prepare for the public speaking task either with their parent (N = 59) or alone (N = 60), whereas 61 children were assigned to the control condition (no TSST-M). We found that parental education moderated the effect of condition on children's responses to acute stress. Children whose parents had lower levels of education exhibited reduced cortisol responses in the parent condition compared to the alone condition, showing a buffered pattern of reactivity. In contrast, children of parents with high levels of education displayed higher cortisol reactivity in the parent condition compared to the alone and control conditions. Parental education was also positively associated with higher levels of state anxiety within the parent condition. These results suggest that highly educated parents may emphasize performance over comfort, amplifying their children's state anxiety and cortisol responses to a public performance.

  View details for DOI 10.1017/S0954579420001285

  View details for Web of Science ID 000607295100018

  View details for PubMedID 33427180

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC9306352

• Brief stress reduction strategies associated with better behavioral climate in a crisis nursery: A pilot study CHILDREN AND YOUTH SERVICES REVIEW DePasquale, C. E., Parenteau, A., Kenney, M., Gunnar, M. R. 2020; 110

  Abstract

  Approximately 3.5 million children in the United States were reported to Child Protective Services in 2016. Effective, developmentally-informed programs are critically necessary to support under-resourced families at risk of child abuse. This study implemented a module of mindfulness-based stress reduction strategies in partnership with a community organization whose goal is to keep families together while reducing the risk of child abuse by providing short-term (3-day) overnight crisis care for birth through 6-year-olds. Group-level assessment of child behaviors was used to assess child functioning at the program level. Children's Services staff were trained in brief stress reduction strategies, with the intention that they be used with the children regularly throughout the day to help the children be emotionally calm and behaviorally regulated. Ordinal logistic regressions suggested that, over the six months preceding implementation (April - September 2017) compared to six months following completion of implementation (February - July 2018), the introduction of stress-reduction strategies was associated with significantly increased self-regulatory behavior and coping skills, but not decreased aggressive behavior. Additionally, staff frequently (approximately 65% of the time) endorsed the strategies as being effective. Though the evidence is preliminary, the unique context of the crisis nursery coupled with the measurement of program-level outcomes furthers our understanding of the scalable impact mindfulness-based stress reduction strategies can have with children experiencing chronic stress and/or trauma in a very hard-to-reach population. Implementation challenges are discussed, as are the implications of stress reduction strategies as a useful, efficient method to improve self-regulation in children experiencing adversity.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104813

  View details for Web of Science ID 000517661700050

  View details for PubMedID 32153312

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC7062364

• A Framework for Identifying Neurobiologically Based Intervention Targets for NSSI CURRENT BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE REPORTS Schreiner, M., Klimes-Dougan, B., Parenteau, A., Hill, D., Cullen, K. R. 2019; 6 (4): 177-187

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s40473-019-00188-z

  View details for Web of Science ID 000671997700006

• Emotion regulation and cortisol reactivity during a social evaluative stressor: A study of post-institutionalized youth DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOBIOLOGY Perry, N. B., Donzella, B., Parenteau, A. M., Desjardins, C., Gunnar, M. R. 2019; 61 (4): 557-572

  Abstract

  In the current study, we compared emotion regulation abilities between post-institutionalized (PI; N = 124) and never-institutionalized non-adopted (NA; N = 172) children and adolescents (7-15 years). We assessed cortisol reactivity and coded emotion regulation during the speech portion of Trier Social Stress Test (TSST-M). Parents reported on their children's social, academic, and behavioral adjustment. Results suggest that emotion regulation abilities increased with age, but this increase was greater for NA than PI youth. With regard to cortisol, piecewise growth modeling revealed that at higher levels of emotion regulation PI youth had greater baseline values (after a period of time allowing for acclimation to the laboratory) and had steeper recovery slopes than NA youth. There was also a main effect of emotion regulation on the reactivity slope suggesting that for both groups, as emotion regulation increased, the cortisol reactivity slope decreased. Finally, greater emotion regulation predicted fewer internalizing behavior problems for PI youth but not for NA youth.

  View details for DOI 10.1002/dev.21828

  View details for Web of Science ID 000466178700005

  View details for PubMedID 30746682

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC6488429