Cortisol–CRP synchrony and mood recovery under clustered psychosocial stress in emerging adults
Fig 5
Mood recovery across binned cortisol–CRP synchrony levels.
Mean mood recovery scores are plotted across ten bins of the Cortisol–CRP Synchrony Index, with each point representing the average mood level for participants within that synchrony range. Error bars indicate the standard error of the mean. The U-shaped trend suggests that both strongly positive and strongly negative synchrony are associated with better mood outcomes, whereas values near zero are linked to diminished emotional recovery. This non-linear association highlights the role of multisystem coupling in affective adaptation under stress.