Everyday discrimination and diurnal cortisol during adolescence

• Discrimination frequency was associated with multiple cortisol parameters.
• Associations generally did not depend upon ethnicity or gender.
• Attributions for discrimination were not as consequential as the actual frequency.

PurposeTo examine the associations of the frequency and type of everyday discrimination with diurnal cortisol and whether those associations depend upon adolescents' ethnicity and gender.MethodsAdolescents (N = 292, Mage = 16. 39 years, SD = 0.74; 58% female) reported the frequency of perceived everyday discrimination and whether they attributed that discrimination to race, gender, age, or height and weight. Five saliva samples were collected per day across 3 days and assayed for cortisol.ResultsHigher frequency of everyday discrimination was associated with greater total daily cortisol output (area under the curve; AUC), lower wake and bedtime levels of cortisol, and less of a decline in cortisol across the day. These associations generally did not depend upon ethnicity or gender and attributions for the discrimination were not as consequential as the actual frequency of any type of unfair treatment.ConclusionEveryday discrimination, regardless of its type, may contribute to heightened HPA activity among adolescents of different ethnic backgrounds and genders.