Purpose: The objective of this study was to examine the link between ethnic-racial identity (ERI) components (exploration, resolution, and affirmation) and youths' diurnal cortisol slopes.
Methods: A sample of 103 U.S.-Mexican adolescents (Mage = 15.29 years) living in the Southwest participated in an in-home interview and 3-day salivary sampling protocol.
Results: ERI affirmation, but not exploration or resolution, was related to steeper diurnal slopes (greater declines in cortisol from waking to bedtime) after controlling for adolescents' life stressors, acculturation level, ethnic-racial discrimination, and daily behaviors (i.e., caffeine use, hours of exercise, hours of sleep, and medication level).
Conclusions: This study provides initial evidence of the physiological benefits of ERI affirmation. Given that steeper diurnal slopes are thought of as an indicator of positive health, our findings point to the importance of examining cultural processes in the well-being of ethnic-racial minority youth.
Keywords: Culture; Diurnal cortisol slopes; Ethnic-racial identity; HPA axis; U.S-Mexican adolescents.
Copyright © 2017 The Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.