McMillan and colleagues (2009)studied cortisol responses to standard psychological stressor in a group of female youths exposed to childhood maltreatment, relative to a control group. The attenuated response from maltreated youth, as compared to a typical increase of cortisol in the control group, was interpreted as:
A)A symptom of dysregulation that may play a role in their vulnerability
B)A symptom of adaptation that may play a role in their vulnerability
C)A misunderstanding of the direction of the correlation between the variables
D)None of the above

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The attenuated cortisol response in maltreated youth is a symptom of dysregulation, meaning it is a sign that their stress response system is not functioning properly. This dysregulation may contribute to their vulnerability to mental and physical health problems later in life.

McMillan and Colleagues (2009)studied Cortisol Responses to Standard Psychological Stressor