Background Evidence has suggested that neurobiological deficits combine with psychosocial risk factors to impact on the development of antisocial behavior. The current study concentrated on the interplay of prenatal maternal stress and autonomic arousal in predicting antisocial behavior and psychopathic traits. Methods Prenatal maternal stress was assessed by caregiver’s retrospective report, and resting heart rate and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) were measured in 295 8- to 10-year-old children. Child and caregiver also reported on child’s antisocial behavior and psychopathic traits. Results Higher prenatal maternal stress was associated with higher caregiver-reported antisocial and psychopathy scores, even after the concurrent measure of social adversity was controlled for. As expected, low heart rate and high RSA were associated with high antisocial and psychopathic traits. More importantly, significant interaction effects were found; prenatal stress was positively associated with multiple dimensions of psychopathic traits only on the conditions of low arousal (e.g., low heart rate or high RSA). Conclusions Findings provide further support for a biosocial perspective of antisocial and psychopathic traits, and illustrate the importance of integrating biological with psychosocial measures to fully understand the etiology of behavioral problems.

Little is known about whether a mother's psychological state during pregnancy influences her offspring's microbiome. This study examined whether maternal anxiety, depression, and stress during pregnancy is associated with the diversity of meconium microbiome, the first internal discharge, in 75 newborns from an existing birth cohort study. The meconium microbiome was profiled using multibarcode16S rRNA sequencing at V3‐V4 hypervariable region followed by taxonomic assignment to the green gene 16S references at 97% similarity and diversity analysis at the genus level. Results showed that the meconium contained diversified microbiota, and greater pregnancy‐related anxiety was significantly associated with a less diverse meconium microbiota community (p = 0.001). At the specific taxa level, greater pregnancy‐related anxiety was correlated with a lower level of the Enterococcaceae family (p = 2e‐4, Spearman rho = −0.43). These findings support a significant role of prenatal maternal mood in the early‐life bacteria colonization of their offspring.

The study examined the effects of in-utero exposure to maternal depression and Superstorm Sandy, a hurricane that hit metropolitan New York in 2012, on infant temperament at 6 months. Temperament was assessed using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised. Maternal depression was measured by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. The main effects and the interaction of maternal depression and Sandy exposure on infant temperament were examined using Multivariable General Linear Model. Results show that prenatal maternal depression was associated with lower emotion-regulation and greater distress. Stratification and interaction analyses suggested that the adverse effects of prenatal maternal depression on problematic temperament were amplified by in-utero Sandy exposure. The study underscores the importance of providing prenatal screening and treatment for maternal depression during pregnancy, while simultaneously identifying high-risk families who may have suffered from disaster-related traumas in order to provide necessary services. As the frequency of natural disasters may increase owing to climate change, it is important to understand the consequences of in-utero stress on child development and to formulate plans for early identification.