An inactive control of the 'Trier Social Stress Test' for Youth 10-17 years: Neuroendocrine, cardiac, and subjective responses.

•The first randomized study comparing Trier Social Stress Test for Children (TSST-C) to an inactive controll procedure among youth 10–17 years.•Subjective anxiety, salivary cortisol, systolic, diastolic blood pressure rose to the stressor in the TSST-C group, but they did not increase in the inactive control group.•The initial measurement of the salivary cortisol was significantly greater than the second measurement. The baseline salivary cortisol linearly increased with age, while the stress reactivity of the salivary cortisol peaked in mid-age adolescents (13–15 years old).•The inactive control procedure successfully eliminated any stress response.