Theory of mind and hair cortisol in healthy young adults: the moderating effects of childhood trauma

Figures & data

Table 1. Baseline characteristics of the study participants.

Variable	CT– (N = 80)	CT+ (N = 126)	p-value
Sex, male/female, No.	40/40	61/65	.82
Age, mean (SD), y	23.04 (2.46)	22.99 (2.67)	.90
Education, mean (SD), y	14.49 (1.26)	14.37 (1.51)	.53
Type of childhood trauma, No.
Emotional neglect	–	54
Physical neglect	–	44
Emotional abuse	–	10
Physical abuse	–	22
Sexual abuse	–	9
ToM^a, mean (SD)
ToM questionnaire score	21.91 (1.12)	22.01 (1.29)	.61
ToM sequencing score	33.78 (3.62)	34.30 (2.48)	.30
HCC, mean (SD), ng/μg	8.18 (9.14)	7.25 (8.37)	.46
BDI^b, mean (SD)	7.30 (9.82)	4.33 (4.33)	.01
SAI, mean (SD)	37.97 (8.78)	35.79 (9.23)	.09
PSS, mean (SD)	26.97 (5.59)	24.70 (5.56)	.01

^a ToM data were available for 106 participants without moderate-to-severe childhood trauma and 67 participants with moderate-to-severe childhood trauma.

^b BDI data were available for 125 participants without moderate-to-severe childhood trauma and all participants with moderate-to-severe childhood trauma.

Abbreviations: BDI, Beck depression inventory; CT–, group without moderate-to-severe childhood trauma; CT+, group with moderate-to-severe childhood trauma; HCC, hair cortisol concentration; PSS, Perceived Stress Scale; SAI, state anxiety subscale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; SD, standard deviation.

Figure 1. Conceptual (A) and statistical (B) model of the association between ToM and HCC moderated by the presence of childhood trauma. The regression coefficients in (B) are calculated in a moderation analysis model including age, sex, education, perceived stress (PSS), depression (BDI) and anxiety (SAI) as covariates.

Table 2. Moderation analysis for the association between ToM and HCC according to the presence of childhood trauma.

Predictor	β	SE	t	p
Constant	3.54	0.70	5.03	<.00
ToM	−0.01	0.03	−0.53	.60
Childhood trauma	2.38	1.04	2.29	.02
ToM × Childhood trauma	−0.11	0.05	−2.29	.02
Age	0.01	0.01	0.82	.42
Sex	0.17	0.06	3.04	<.01
Education	<0.00	0.03	0.02	.99
BDI	<−0.01	0.01	−0.94	.35
SAI	0.01	<0.01	2.28	.02
PSS	−0.01	0.01	−1.30	.20

Notes: The model is adjusted for age, sex, education, PSS, BDI and SAI.

All continuous variables were mean-centered.

Abbreviations: BDI, Beck depression inventory; HCC, hair cortisol concentration; PSS, Perceived Stress Scale; SAI, state anxiety subscale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; SE, standard error; ToM, Theory of mind.

Data availability

All data used during this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy restrictions.