Table 5.
Summary of articles describing sex differences in miscellaneous stress tests
| Author (year) | Sample size | Age | Study protocol | Sampling points | Sampling medium | Results | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–1 year old | Davis (1995) | 36 | 30.99 ± 8.09 h | Neonatal Behavior Assessment Scale | 5×, 1 before, 4 after test | Saliva | Higher reactivity in boys | |
| Eiden (2015) | 217 | 9 months | Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery | 4×, 1 before, 3 after test | Saliva | Cortisol increase in boys, not in girls | ||
| Grunau (2010) | 32 | 4.2 ± 1.0 months | Cortisol response after vaccination | 3×, 1 before, 2 after | Saliva | No sex differences; pubertal status not assessed | ||
| 1–7 years old | De Weerth (2013) | 42 | 68.0 ± 4.3 months | CREST paradigm | 6× (2 before, 4 after) | Saliva | No sex differences; pubertal status not assessed | |
| Gunnar (2010) | 151 | 3.81 ± 0.23 years | Daycare attendance | 2×/day on 2 days | Saliva | No sex differences; pubertal status not assessed | ||
| Hatzinger (2007) | 102 | 4.91 ± 0.44 years | MSSB | 5× (2 before, 3 after) | Saliva | Higher reactivity in girls | ||
| Kryski (2013) | 409 | 40.72 ± 3.51 months | Matching task | 6× (1 before, 5 after) | Saliva | No sex differences; pubertal status not assessed | ||
| Mills (2008) | 214 | 4.14 ± 0.24 years | Easy and difficult matching tasks | 6×, 1 before, 5 after | Saliva | Further decreases in boys after initial decrease for both sexes | ||
| Plusquellec (2011) | 376 | 18.85 ± 0.74 months | Two unfamiliar situations (clown and robot) | 2×, 1 before, 1 after | Saliva | No sex differences; pubertal status not assessed | ||
| Spinrad (2009) | 84 | 54.07 ± 0.97 months | Preschool Laboratory Assessment Battery | 3×, 1 before, 2 after | Saliva | No sex differences; pubertal status not assessed | ||
| Yong Ping (2014) | 94 | 29.9 ± 1.1 months | Maternal separation | 4× (2 before, 2 after) | Saliva | No sex differences; pubertal status not assessed | ||
| ≥7 years old | Psychological stress | Daughters (2013) | 132 | 16.1 ± 1.0 years | Behavioral Indicator of Resiliency to Distress | 4×, 1 before, 3 after | Saliva | Boys: higher baseline, greater peak. No sex differences in AUCg |
| Hackman (2012) | 180 | 12–14 years | Parent–adolescent conflict discussion | 3× (2 before, 1 after) | Saliva | No sex differences; pubertal status not assessed | ||
| Minkley (2012) | 93 | 17.86 ± 0.096 years | Examination challenge (reproduction of knowledge or transfer and problem-solving) | 2×, 1 before, 1 after | Saliva | Not statistically significant, but higher increases in boys. More in reproduction of knowledge group, but also greater in transfer and problem-solving group | ||
| Zijlmans (2013) | 52 | 12.5 ± 1.21 years | Social Evaluative Stress Test | 7×, 1 before, 6 after | Saliva | Higher reactivity in boys | ||
| Physical stress | Allen (2009) | 235 | 12.7 ± 2.9 years | Laboratory Pain Tasks | Saliva: 3×, 1 before, 2 after | Saliva/blood | No sex differences; pubertal status not associated with reactivity | |
| Blood: 2× (after) | ||||||||
| Chiodo (2011) | 16 | Boys: 14 ± 0 years; girls: 13 ± 1 years | Taekwondo competition | 5× (2 before, 3 after) | Saliva | Lower overall values in girls, but higher peak. | ||
| Covelli (2012) | 106 | 15.3 ± 1.1 years | Cold water hand immersion | 2×, 1 before, 1 after | Saliva | No sex differences; pubertal status not assessed | ||
| Frias (2000) | 48 | 13–17 years | Acute alcohol intoxication | 1× (after); controls as reference | Blood | More pronounced increase in girls | ||
| Gecgelen (2012) | 40 | 10.9–14.7 years | Rapid maxillary expansion | 13×, 1 before, 3 after, and 9 during a period of treatment | Saliva | No sex differences; pubertal status not assessed | ||
| Khilnani (1993) | 98 | 2–20 years | Elective surgery | 2×, 1 before, 1 after | Blood | No sex differences; pubertal status not assessed | ||
| Kuhlman (2015) | 121 | 12.8 ± 2.3 years | Socially evaluated cold pressor test | 7× (2 before, 5 after) | Saliva | No sex differences; pubertal status not assessed | ||
| Lopez-Duran (2015) | 115 | 12.79 ± 2.26 years | Socially evaluated cold pressor test | 8× (2 before, 6 after) | Saliva | No sex differences; pubertal status not assessed | ||
| Stupnicki (1995) | 29 | Boys: 17.3 ± 0.8; girls: 16.4 ± 0.6 years | Exercise | 2×, 1 before, 1 after | Blood | Boys decrease in cortisol; girls increase in cortisol after exercise | ||
| Yfanti (2014) | 97 | 89.73 ± 15 months | Dental treatment | 5×, 1 before, 4 after | Saliva | No sex differences; pubertal status not assessed | ||