Methodological trends in biological assessment of children’s daily stress: A scoping review

Abstract

Introduction Childhood stress can influence biological stress-response systems and may have long-term implications for development. Although biological measures are increasingly used to assess stress in children, research on biological assessments of daily stress among typically developing children has not yet been comprehensively synthesized across stress types and disciplines. Objective This scoping review synthesizes research from the past 20 years on biological assessments of daily stress in typically developing children, distinguishing between chronic and acute stress and integrating evidence across medicine, psychology, and education. Methods Following established scoping review frameworks, we searched PubMed, PsycArticles, and EBSCO Education Source for English-language observational and experimental studies from 2005 to 2025. Studies assessing daily stress using biological indicators in typically developing children were included. Review articles, case studies, pilot studies, and intervention studies were excluded. Data were charted on publication year, country, child age, stress type, data collection methods, biological indicators, and assessment context. Results Fifty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria. Overall, the number of studies increased between 2005 and 2019, followed by a modest decline between 2020 and 2025. Acute stress studies were more prevalent than chronic stress studies. Chronic stress research most frequently involved preschool-aged children, whereas acute stress studies most frequently targeted upper elementary-aged children. Endocrine measures—particularly cortisol—were most frequently used, followed by autonomic nervous system measures, whereas brain- and immune-related markers remained limited. The use of repeated daily cortisol sampling increased markedly between 2015 and 2019, followed by a modest decline in 2020–2025, while remaining above levels observed in earlier periods. Conclusion This review maps methodological trends in biological assessments of daily stress in typically developing children and identifies research gaps across stress types, age groups, biological indicators, and cortisol assessment practices. These findings can inform more comprehensive and methodologically robust approaches to understanding children’s daily stress.