Stress in context: Discrimination, early adversity, and the rhythms of cortisol

Stress physiology develops through ongoing interaction with the environments people move through, leaving measurable signatures of both early adversity and current social experiences. Emerging adulthood is a period when these influences often converge, particularly for marginalized young adults who navigate developmental transitions alongside persistent exposure to discrimination. Guided by evolutionary-developmental models of stress calibration, the present study examined how early-life adversity, perceived discrimination, and emotional support relate to multi-day patterns of diurnal cortisol slope, a multi-day indicator of the stress system’s characteristic daily rhythm, reflecting accumulated environmental inputs. Seventy-three emerging adults of color (ages 18-25) completed laboratory surveys and a week-long, at-home protocol involving waking and bedtime salivary cortisol collection across three nonconsecutive days. Early adversity was assessed through Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), past-year family stress, economic strain, and interpersonal trauma. Perceived discrimination was measured with a validated trait-level index capturing experiences of unfair treatment across social contexts. Emotional support was assessed across key relationships, including caregivers and best friends. Across analyses, early adversity, perceived discrimination, and emotional support each showed small and inconsistent associations with diurnal cortisol slope. Although none of the predictors reached statistical significance, the directional patterns were generally consistent with theoretical expectations: greater adversity and higher perceived discrimination tended to correspond with slightly flatter slopes, whereas higher emotional support was associated with somewhat steeper slopes. These trends were modest and should be interpreted cautiously given the study’s limited power to detect small effects typical of psychobiological research. Despite these limitations, the study demonstrates the value of a within-group approach and multi-day cortisol assessment for understanding how developmental history and social context shape daily stress physiology among emerging adults of color. The findings underscore that physiological patterns are not fixed markers of dysfunction but may reflect context-sensitive adaptations to environmental demands, offering a foundation for future work using larger samples and more fully powered designs.