Hormones and Academic Stress: Coupling and Reactivity of Testosterone, Estradiol, and Cortisol to an Academic Examination Public

Abstract

Hormone coupling is the degree to which fluctuations in hormone levels occur in parallel. The purpose of the present study was to explore hormone coupling and reactivity of testosterone, cortisol, and estradiol in the context of the real-world stressor of an academic examination. In the present study, participants were undergraduate men and women who provided salivary samples on a neutral-day and before and after taking two course exams. Participants provided a measure of subjective stress and completed a brief survey intended to explore the involvement of person-factors on the endocrine and psychological response to stress. Four major findings were observed. First, there were significant sex differences in subjective stress and hormone levels across all time points. Second, hormone reactivity to the first and second exam was significantly associated in men for all three hormones suggesting there are individual differences in hormone reactivity that are carried over from one exam to the next. Third, positive coupling of testosterone and estradiol, and testosterone and cortisol were observed in the majority of individuals. Finally, prestige was positively correlated with mean estradiol level and predicted estradiol and cortisol reactivity in women. These findings suggest that taking an academic exam is a real-world stressor capable of eliciting strong psychological and hormonal responses. These results should encourage research designed to explore exam-related individual differences in fluctuating levels of testosterone, estradiol, and cortisol recognizing that there may be benefits, yet to be revealed, of matching fluctuations in two (or more) hormone pairs. 

Table of Contents

Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... 2

Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 3

Material and methods..................................................................................................................... 5

            2.1 Participants.................................................................................................................... 5

            2.2 Procedural overview...................................................................................................... 6

            2.3 Saliva samples and hormone assays............................................................................ 7

            2.4 Online Survey................................................................................................................. 8

            2.5 Statistical Analysis........................................................................................................ 9

Results .......................................................................................................................................... 10

            3.1 Subjective stress.......................................................................................................... 10

            3.2 Person factors, subjective stress, and mean hormone levels.................................... 13

            3.3 Oral contraceptive use and sex differences in hormone levels.................................. 13

            3.4 Exam-related hormone reactivity............................................................................... 17

            3.5 Hormone coupling....................................................................................................... 20

Discussion...................................................................................................................................... 22

            4.1 Subjective stress and hormones................................................................................. 22

            4.2 Sex differences in hormone levels.............................................................................. 23

            4.3 Person-factors and hormones..................................................................................... 25

            4.4 Individual differences in hormone reactivit................................................................ 25

            4.5 Hormone coupling....................................................................................................... 26

            4.6 Strengths and limitations............................................................................................ 27

Conclusion...................................................................................................................................... 28

REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................. 29

APPENDICES 

Appendix 1..................................................................................................................................... 34

Appendix 2..................................................................................................................................... 35

Appendix 3 .................................................................................................................................... 36

Appendix 4..................................................................................................................................... 37

Appendix 5..................................................................................................................................... 38

Appendix 6..................................................................................................................................... 39

Appendix 7..................................................................................................................................... 40

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Psychology
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Mot-clé	estradiol
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	David Edwards, Emory University
Committee Members	Jennifer Sarrett, Emory University Patricia Brennan, Emory University

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