Different measures of AL provide different information. Observations of AL which include both qualitative and quantitative aspects of AL within structured situations are able to capture beneficial aspects of normative AL as well as detriments of both low and high AL.

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Objective Black children are disproportionately affected by atopic diseases (i.e., atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, asthma, and food allergies), with health disparities present in early life. Studies in White samples suggest that maternal stress confers risk for offspring atopy, yet little is known about these relationships in Black populations. This study seeks to (a) examine the relationship between self-reported and physiological indicators of maternal stress and offspring atopy and (b) explore warm and responsive caregiving as a potential protective factor in Black Americans. Methods A sample of 179 Black mother–child dyads of varying socioeconomic status participated in a prospective longitudinal study. Mothers completed self-reports of childhood trauma, prenatal stress, postnatal stress, and physician diagnosis of offspring atopy; provided blood samples to assess physiological responses to chronic stress exposure; and participated in a behavioral task with their infant. Results Maternal self-reports of childhood trauma, prenatal stress, and postnatal stress were not associated with offspring diagnosis of atopy by 2–3 years of age. Mothers who produced a smaller inflammatory response during pregnancy were more likely to have an offspring with atopy by 2–3 years of age. Warm and responsive parenting demonstrated a protective effect; the positive association between maternal stress and offspring atopy was less apparent in cases of mother–child interactions characterized by high levels warm and responsive parenting. Conclusion Failure to replicate previous findings suggests that the maternal stress–offspring atopy relationship is complex. Future studies must examine the unique stressors in Black Americans, as well as caregiving as a potential protective factor.

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Greater exposure to racial/ethnic discrimination among pregnant Black American women is associated with elevated prenatal depressive symptomatology, poorer prenatal sleep quality, and poorer child health outcomes. Given the transdiagnostic importance of early childhood sleep health, we examined associations between pregnant women’s lifetime exposure to racial/ethnic discrimination and their two-year-old children’s sleep health. We also examined women’s gendered racial stress as a predictor variable. In exploratory analyses, we examined prenatal sleep quality and prenatal depressive symptoms as potential mediators of the prior associations. We utilized data from a sample of Black American women and children (n = 205). Women self-reported their lifetime experiences of discrimination during early pregnancy, their sleep quality and depressive symptoms during mid-pregnancy, and their children’s sleep health at age two. Hierarchical linear multiple regression models were fit to examine direct associations between women’s experiences of discrimination and children’s sleep health. We tested our mediation hypotheses using a parallel mediator model. Higher levels of gendered racial stress, but not racial/ethnic discrimination, were directly associated with poorer sleep health in children. Higher levels of racial/ethnic discrimination were indirectly associated with poorer sleep health in children, via women’s prenatal depressive symptomatology, but not prenatal sleep quality. Clinical efforts to mitigate the effects of discrimination on Black American women may benefit women’s prenatal mental health and their children’s sleep health.