Affect variability and cortisol in context: The moderating roles of mean affect and stress

• Published in: Psychoneuroendocrinology 2024-08, Vol.166, p.107064, Article 107064
• Main Authors: Jenkins, Brooke N., Martin, Logan T., “Helen” Lee, Hee Youn, Hunter, John F., Acevedo, Amanda M., Pressman, Sarah D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Affect variability; Cortisol; Positive affect
• ISSN: 0306-4530; 1873-3360; 1873-3360
• DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107064

Positive and negative affect have been shown to have implications for hormones like cortisol but how moment to moment changes in affect (i.e., affect variability) influence cortisol secretion is less well understood. Additionally, context characteristics such as mean affect and stress may influence the association between affect variability and cortisol output. In the current study, we examined affect, stress, and cortisol data from 113 participants (age range = 25–63, M = 35.63, SD = 11.34; 29% male; 42% White/Caucasian, 37% Asian or Pacific Islander, 13% Hispanic/Latino, 4% Black/African American, 1% Native American, Eskimo, or Aleut, 4% selected “other” for their race/ethnicity). Participants completed ecological momentary assessments assessing positive and negative affect and stress four times per day for five days and provided saliva samples at each time point. Saliva was assayed for cortisol, and area under the curve with respect to ground was computed. In a three-way interaction, both positive affect mean level and stress moderated the association between positive affect variability and cortisol (b = −1.55, t(100) = −3.29, SE = 0.47, p