Author ORCID Identifier:

https://orcid.org/0009-0006-7390-9460

Date of Graduation

8-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Psychology (MA)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Psychological Science

Advisor/Mentor

Leen-Feldner, Ellen

Committee Member

Bridges, Ana

Second Committee Member

Shields, Grant

Third Committee Member

Vargas, Ivan

Keywords

Hair cortisol concentration; HPA-axis; Lifetime stressor exposure; neighborhood stressors; Repetitive negative thinking

Abstract

Habitual stress processes are thought to influence acute stress reactivity and stress-related disease. Habitual stress processes have been shown to adapt in response to stressor exposure experienced across the lifespan. The current study seeks to explore whether two habitual stress processes, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity and repetitive negative thinking (RNT), were associated with lifetime stressor exposure (self-reported and objective neighborhood-level stressors). Additionally, the current study attempts to quantify how this process may be moderated by race and ethnicity. Participants (N = 134, Mage = 18 [SDage= 1.69], 56.7% female) consisting of White (N = 52), Black (N = 37 ), Latinx (N = 45) young adults, completed a battery of questionnaires including the Stress and Adversity Inventory (STRAIN), Repetitive Negative Thinking Questionnaire (RNTQ-10), Experiences of Discrimination Scale (EODS), and a residential history to estimate cumulative neighborhood- level stressors (linked to Area Deprivation Index). Participants were also asked to provide a 3- cm hair sample for analysis of hair cortisol concentration (HCC). Separate multiple linear regressions were conducted to assess the independent and interactive effects of stressor exposure and race and ethnicity on habitual processes (HCC and RNT). No significant main effect emerged for lifetime stressor exposure or cumulative ADI on RNT or HCC. No interaction effects of race and ethnicity were found. EODS scores were significantly associated with RNT. Race and ethnicity did emerge as a significant predictor of HCC, with Black and Latinx participants displaying significantly greater HCC than their white counterparts. The findings from this study suggest that lifetime stressor exposure (both individual and neighborhood-level) may not be related to HCC or RNT. While no moderating effects of race and ethnicity were found, results did show that racial and ethnic differences in HCC occur and may be driven by factors other than lifetime stressor exposure.

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