To assess diurnal cortisol patterns, cortisol samples are collected from adopted children following the 54-, 72-, and 84-month in-person assessments and from birth parents following the 54-month assessment. The collections occur 30 min after awakening and 30 min prior to sleep on 3 sequential weekdays (six collections in total at each assessment wave). The interviewer demonstrates the collection procedures and has the participants practice how to collect saliva during the in person visit. The procedure for collecting saliva samples involves the participant putting a piece of cotton in his/her mouth for 1 min and then spitting it into a tube. The participants return the samples to us via a prepaid priority mail envelope provided by the study to be assayed at the Oregon Social Learning Center cortisol laboratory.
