Altered stress reactivity has been linked to psychopathology and is a central focus of biopsychosocial research. Established social stress paradigms reliably induce both subjective and physiological stress responses, and recent research suggests that these paradigms can be administered repeatedly without strong test–retest effects. However, existing research is mostly limited to adults, short time intervals, and few measurement points. The application of social stress paradigms in longitudinal studies that are broad in scope and involve children and adolescents is limited, typically due to their length, complexity, and resource demands. Consequentially, developmental changes in stress responses across childhood and adolescence remain poorly understood.

We developed a hybrid social stress test that combines computer-based tasks with a real social interaction component, specifically designed for use with children and adolescents. The paradigm is optimized for repeated application and minimal experimenter involvement, making it suitable for large-scale longitudinal studies. It is currently implemented in an ongoing longitudinal study with six assessments over 2.5 years, including minors from clinical contexts and the general population.

We present the test design, repeated-measure variations, and technical tools for assessing subjective responses and physiological biomarkers (e.g., autonomic and HPA-axis indicators), along with the temporal sequence of their implementation within the experimental protocol. In the future, we aim to address three questions: (1) whether and how repeated administration of the test reliably induces stress in children and adolescents, (2) how stress reactivity develops across time, (3) how this development relates to the emergence of psychopathology in youth.