The hair cortisol concentration (HCC) is assumed to be a retrospective marker of integrated
cortisol secretion and stress over longer periods of time. Its quantification is increasingly …

BACKGROUND The social environment shapes human health, producing strong
relationships between social factors, disease risk, and survival. The strength of these links …

British Psychology Society Textbook of the Year 2020 Why do people who are more socially
connected live longer and have better health than those who are socially isolated? Why are …

Given the connection between chronic stress and health, there has been a growing
emphasis on identifying chronically stressed wild animals, especially in relation to …

Many aspects of the social environment affect hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis
function and increase circulating glucocorticoid concentrations. In this review, we examine …

Allostasis, the concept of maintaining stability through change, has been proposed as a term
and a model to replace the ambiguous term of stress, the concept of adequately or …

Baseline glucocorticoid (cort) levels are increasingly employed as physiological indices of
the relative condition or health of individuals and populations. Often, high cort levels are …

All organisms must adjust morphology, physiology and behavior as they go about their life
cycles. For vertebrates, including humans, these adjustments occur as daily routines and in …

In humans and obligatory social animals, individuals with weak social ties experience
negative health and fitness consequences. The social buffering hypothesis conceptualizes …

Experience in aggressive contests often affects behaviour during, and the outcome of, later
contests. This review discusses evidence for, variations in, and consequences of such …