Does Social Buffering Continue to be Effective Over the Peripubertal Period When Friends Share the Stressor Experience?

Does Social Buffering Continue to be Effective Over the Peripubertal Period When Friends Share the Stressor Experience?

The purpose of this experiment is to determine whether social buffering by friends of stress physiology remains effective later in puberty when friends share the load versus when they provide support but are not undergoing the stressor with the target child. There are four conditions: (1) Friend and Target both undergo the stressor, (2) Friend provides support but does not undergo the stressor, (3) Unfamiliar Peer and Target undergo the stressor, and (4) Alone (no partner).

Adolescents experience social evaluation stress frequently. However, it is likely that often they are not alone, but with friends who are also going through the same experience. Thus, it is possible that under these conditions, social buffering by friends does not wane over the peripubertal period. Participants will be assigned to social conditions while engaging in an evaluative stressor task.

Inclusion Criteria:

• sufficient vision, hearing, and language skills to provide verbal and written assent
• ability to see and read stimuli presented on the computer screen
• ability to hear verbal instructions provided by the experimenter and judges

Exclusion Criteria:

• premature birth (less than 37 weeks)
• congenital and/or chromosomal disorders (e.g. cerebral palsy, FAS, mental retardation, Turner Syndrome, Down Syndrome, Fragile X)
• Autism Spectrum Disorders
• history of serious medical illness (e.g., cancer, organ transplant)
• serious psychiatric illness
• systemic glucocorticoids or beta-adrenergic medication use