Diurnal Cortisol in a Sample of Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Chinese Children: Evidence for the Shift-and-Persist Hypothesis

摘要

Objective Low socioeconomic status (SES) is one of the most well-established social determinants of health. However, little is known about what can protect the health of individuals (especially children) living in low-SES circumstances. This study explored whether the psychological strategy of shift-and-persist protects low-SES children from stress-related physiological risks, as measured through blunted (unhealthy) diurnal cortisol profiles.