Recent studies show that oxidative stress has an important role in the etiology of autism. In our study, Nrf2, which is the main regulator of cellular antioxidant response, and Keap1 and Gsk-3[beta], which are the main proteins that regulate this pathway, were compared between children with autism and healthy controls. To the best of our…

Background: Education outside the classroom (EOtC) is considered beneficial to children's physical and mental health. Especially, stress resilience has been linked to nature experience. Aims: This study experimentally explored the effects of pupils' autonomy support (AUT) and physical activity (PA) on their biological stress responses and brain…

Medical personnel often experience stress when responding to a medical emergency. A known stress-response is a measurable reduction in heart rate variability. It is currently unknown if crisis simulation can elicit the same stress response as real clinical emergencies. We aim to compare heart rate variability changes amongst medical trainees…

Background: This study examined the relations between students' expectancies for success and a physiological component of test anxiety, salivary cortisol, during an authentic testing setting. Aims: The aim of the study was to better understand the connection between shifts in students' control appraisals and changes in the physiological component…

This study provides a comprehensive overview of methodological aspects when using heart rate variability (HRV) measures in educational research. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, we searched four databases for relevant studies published until March 5, 2024. From the 48 studies reviewed, we extracted data across three analytical categories: (1)…

Extant literature has demonstrated that children's diurnal stress physiology often looks different on childcare versus home days. Specifically, children experience a rise in cortisol, rather than a decline, over the day while in full-time care. Additionally, temperamental fit within classroom environment may influence both child and teacher…

Academic self-efficacy has been shown to have a significant correlation to academic success in college students (Robbins et al., 2004). Additionally, research has indicated that academic success plays a large role in stress levels experienced by college students (Pedersen & Jodin, 2016). Social comparison has also been posited as a significant…

Background: Sleep deprivation can decrease parental well-being and degrade mental and physical health in parents of children with chronic illness. The aim of this study was to explore the associations of sleep quality, psychological stress perception, and evening salivary cortisol concentration with self-esteem, optimism and happiness in parents…

Positive emotional design has been shown to have an important impact on multimedia learning. However, before learning multimedia materials, students may inevitably be stressed by external factors such as learning uncertainties brought about by COVID-19, that can affect their final performance. Moreover, whether the principles of emotional design…

Early childhood educators have one of the most important roles in society, helping the youngest generation flourish, yet educators earn some of the lowest wages. Given their disparate financial value, educators have unsurprisingly reported high stress. Educators' high stress and low wages may affect their health, workplace turnover, and children's…

Study abroad programs increase a student's exposure to different cultures, traditions, and ways of life. While the benefits of participating in a study abroad program have been well documented, barriers, such as language, culture, and environment, may present themselves to program participants. Participants are introduced to a variety of new…

Are children from "Eastern" cultures less emotionally expressive and reactive than children from "Western" cultures? To answer this, we used a multi-level and multi-contextual approach to understand variations in emotion displays and cortisol reactivity among preschoolers living in China and the United States. One hundred two…

Positive parent-child relationship quality is critical for buffering children from the effects of stress on development. It is thus vital to develop interventions that target parent-child relationship quality for families experiencing stress. We examined the moderating role of parent-child relationship quality (as measured by parental emotional…

Purpose: Changes in biophysiological markers related to perceived burnout and self-comfort were tested in this study. Method: Forty-two student-athletes from middle and high school grades were evaluated for burnout, salivary cortisol levels, measures of arousal-related physiological markers (i.e., blood volume pulse; BVP), galvanic skin response…

Dysregulation of biological stress response, as measured by cortisol output, has been a primary candidate mechanism for how social experiences become biologically embedded. Cortisol is the primary output of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis. Cortisol levels vary systematically across the day and change in response to both sudden, acute…