Adolescence represents a critical period of brain plasticity as well as physical and social changes. The adolescent period is also critical for gender intensification and solidifying of academic and social trajectories among girls and boys. Yet, fundamental knowledge regarding potential developmental shifts in stress response over the adolescent/pubertal transition is lacking, and basic research examining gender differences in physiological and affective response to academic and social stressors has not been conducted. Importantly, this research involves an initial investigation of the influence of pubertal status and gender on physiological (hypothalamic, pituitary, adrenocortical, and autonomic) responses to laboratory stressors (academic, and social) over the adolescent transition. It will provide fundamental insights into the nature of stress response patterns over the adolescent transition, and will allow refinement of new models for characterizing stress response. Here it is proposed that a unique developmental shift in stress response will be evident across the adolescent transition and will explained by (pre/post) pubertal status. It is also proposed that increased response to academic versus social stress will be gender-specific, such that post-pubertal girls will show greater response to social stressors while post-pubertal boys will show greater response to academic stressors. Ninety pre and postpubertal boys and girls will complete an initial ?rest? session followed by academic and social stress induction sessions (in random order). Saliva cortisol and alpha amylase will be measured over the course of both stress sessions. Because the adolescent/pubertal transition represents a period of heightened vulnerability for girls, an understanding of factors leading to increased vulnerability for girls at this critical period can lead to improved adjustment and pursuit of productive roles. More generally, this research has the potential to elucidate fundamental shifts in stress response across a period of enormous social, academic, and biological change. Consequently, it has the potential to identify and improve trajectories among adolescents who may be at a particular risk of poorer functioning.
