Influence of treatment for disruptive behavior disorders on adrenal and gonadal hormones in youth

Lorah D. Dorn, David J. Kolko, Chad E. Shenk, Elizabeth J. Susman, Oscar Bukstein

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

The study examined whether psychosocial intervention for children diagnosed with a disruptive behavior disorder (DBD; n=84) changed concentrations of cortisol and testosterone across a 3-year follow-up when compared to a matched, nonclinical, healthy comparison (HC; n=69) group. Boys and girls (6-11 years) with a DBD were randomly assigned to one of two arms of a multimethod intervention. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that children undergoing psychosocial intervention for a DBD experienced a significant decline in diurnal cortisol change over time (p<.05) when compared to the HC condition. Boys with a DBD diagnosis had significantly lower mean cortisol concentrations prior to treatment (p<.05) and showed a significantly steeper increase in mean cortisol over time (p<.05) when compared to HC boys. Treatment effects for diurnal cortisol change were replicated in the boys-only analysis. No treatment effects were noted for testosterone in either analysis.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)562-571
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology
Volume40
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2011

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Clinical Psychology

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