Evaluation of the socially evaluated cold-pressor group test (SECPT-G) in the general population
- Published
- Accepted
- Subject Areas
- Psychiatry and Psychology, Public Health
- Keywords
- SECPT, stress, groups, cortisol, alpha-amylase, sympathetic nervous system, HPA axis, general population, lifestyle factors, stress test
- Copyright
- © 2019 Becker et al.
- Licence
- This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ Preprints) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
- Cite this article
- 2019. Evaluation of the socially evaluated cold-pressor group test (SECPT-G) in the general population. PeerJ Preprints 7:e27658v1 https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.27658v1
Abstract
Background. In stress research, economic instruments for introducing acute stress responses are needed. In this study, we investigated whether the socially evaluated cold-pressor group test (SECPT-G) induces salivary alpha-amylase and/or cortisol responses in the general population and whether it is associated with anthropometric, experimental, and lifestyle factors.
Methods. A total of 91 participants was recruited. Salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase levels were assessed prior (t0), immediately after (t1), and ten minutes after the SECPT-G (t2).
Results. A strong cortisol increase was found immediately after the SECPT-G, which further increased between t1 and t2. This was independent of most of the control variables. However, men showed stronger cortisol increases than women. No sAA responses were found at all.
Conclusions. We conclude that the SECPT-G is a good means of an acute stress test when cortisol – but not necessarily sAA – responses are intended.
Author Comment
This is a submission to PeerJ for review.