Positive coping enhances children’s emotional wellness via neuroendocrine modulation of cortisol awakening response and hippocampal circuitry

Positive coping is a key developmental asset that supports active self-regulation in daily emotional challenges and may influence neurodevelopment through cortisol-related stress physiology relevant to hippocampal integrity and behavioral adaptation in childhood. However, the neurobiological mechanism underlying how positive coping may impact hippocampal development during childhood remains unclear. In Study 1, we recruited 129 typically-developing children aged 6-12 years and assessed their positive coping style, cortisol awakening response (CAR) by cortisol_{30 min}-cortisol_awakening, and brain activity under an emotional processing task. In Study 2, 59 of them longitudinally underwent the same emotional task fMRI one year later. Behaviorally, positive coping was associated with better emotional regulation and lower anxiety at Time-1, and less decision hesitation in emotional decision-making at both Time-1 and Time-2. At the endocrine and neurocognitive level, positive coping was associated with greater CAR at Time-1, which was further linked with higher hippocampal activation and hippocampus-ventrolateral prefrontal (vlPFC) connectivity one year later. Besides, the hippocampal maturation may support the maturity of hippocampal-vlPFC connectivity one year later. The study highlights a cognitive-neuroendocrine framework in which positive coping may impact the hippocampal-neocortical pathway via CAR to enhance emotional wellness.