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Ostiguy et al. (2011) study on sensitivity to stress among the offspring of parents with bipolar disorders focused on whether interpersonal chronic and episodic stress moderated the relationship between risk status and cortisol levels. Key findings were deduced from the study. Among them was that OBD exhibited higher levels of daytime cortisol than the OFH. In addition, ratings of chronic stress predicted the cortisol response following awakening. The OBD experiencing high levels of interpersonal chronic stress exhibited high HPA axis reactivity. Finally, the OBD experiencing severe interpersonal episodic stress had higher cortisol levels during the day than the OBD experiencing mild interpersonal episodic stress (Ostiguy et al, 2011).

The observed stress interactions between stress and group suggested that the OBD are physiologically more sensitive to stress in the natural environment than OFH-participants. However, stress sensitivity was also attributed to a long history of stressful experiences. The families that were constantly fighting or chaotic subjected their children or siblings to stress in the latter years (Ostiguy et al, 2011). The present study has revealed that the chronic stress predicted the cortisol response following awakening, but not daytime cortisol levels and that episodic stress.

 

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In achieving the results above, the study focused on random sampling in an attempt to ascertain the sampling population. Upon selecting the population, questionnaires were issued to the participants, which were filled. In addition, the researcher selected participants that were interviewed particularly those with mental disorders. The study concluded that the OBD exposed to high levels of stress in their natural environment exhibited higher cortisol levels than the OBD exposed to lower levels of stress. As such, it has direct implications on the development of effective disorders, as high cortisol levels in vulnerable populations are associated with an increased risk of developing an affective disorder.

Feng Lin et al. (2010) study focused on the awareness of memory abilities in community-dwelling older adults with suspected dementia and mild cognitive impairment. Most of the studies, preceding this study, had analyzed the subject matter, but in clinical patient population. The analysis showed that individuals with either a possible undetected or diagnosed dementia/MCI are more likely to overestimate their memory abilities than healthy controls. The study expanded ion the previous work by demonstrating that deterioration of awareness appears to correspond with co9gnitive decline. In addition, it was critical that the three groups studied did not differ in their estimated memory performance after adjusting for age and gender differences (Lin et al., 2010).

In arriving at these results, the study used secondary data in which English-speaking residents, aged 50 years and over, was invited to the free educational lectures. Cognitive screening was done to the participants, and sufficient data was availed to calculate their AR. In the analysis, the study used SPSS 16.0. The analysis specifically addressed the nature of the variable—continuous vs. categorical—unequal sample size across groups, multiple comparisons, and lack of homoskedasticity in variables.

The study concluded that the memory decline among individuals was a common phenomenon that the society faced. According to Lin et al. (2010), the findings suggested that the ability to accurately self-report memory ability declines concurrently with cognitive abilities in individuals with impairments. The study emphasized on the importance of initiatives directed toward primary care providers and caregivers as they are more likely than patients to evaluate cognitive and functional changes among the elderly.