Stress and Diurnal Cortisol Among Latino College Students: A Multi-Risk Model Approach

The transition to college is a time of increased opportunity and stress that spans across multiple domains (e.g., social life, academic workload, finances). Adolescents who encounter significant stress during the transition to college may be vulnerable to adverse outcomes, due to a “wear and tear” of physiological systems, including the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Latino students may be particularly at-risk for heightened stress exposure, as minority youth often experience both minority-specific stressors and general life stress. Despite this, the majority of research on Latino students is limited to the examination of singular forms of stress, and little is known regarding the cumulative impact of multiple forms of stress on Latino students’ HPA axis functioning. The present study employed a “multi-risk model approach” to examine the additive, common, and cumulative effects of multiple types of stress (general, academic, social, financial, bicultural, discrimination) on HPA axis functioning in Latino college students (N = 209; 64.4% female; Mage = 18.95). Results from three-level growth curve models indicated that, in the additive model, no stressors were associated with the CAR, but general stress was associated with a flatter diurnal cortisol slope (DCS) and bicultural stress was linked with a steeper DCS. In the common model, the college stress latent factor was related to a reduced cortisol awakening response (CAR), but not the DCS. In the cumulative model, cumulative risk was linked with a lower CAR, but not the DCS. These findings highlight the physiological correlates of various stressors experienced by Latino college students.