Children's stress regulation mediates the association between prenatal maternal mood and child executive functions for boys, but not girls

Neuenschwander, Regula; Hookenson, Kaia; Brain, Ursula; Grunau, Ruth E.; Devlin, Angela M.; Weinberg, Joanne; Diamond, Adele; Oberlander, Tim F.

doi:10.1017/s095457941800041x

Cited by 26 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 123 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Thus, the present study demonstrates the importance of infant’s HPA functioning for long-term healthy development. This is in line with a current study by Neuenschwander et al (2018), showing that heightened cortisol reactivity is associated with poorer executive functioning in 6-year old children. Furthermore, children’s cortisol levels functioned as a mediator between maternal prenatal depressed and/or anxious symptoms and executive functioning.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Emotional Stress During Pregnancy – Associations With Maternal Anxiety Disorders, Infant Cortisol Reactivity, and Mother–Child Interaction at Pre-school Age

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There is growing evidence that even milder forms of maternal stress or anxiety during pregnancy affect the fetus causing possible long-term consequences for infant and child development. The mechanisms through which prenatal maternal stress may affect the unborn are not yet entirely clarified. Due to limited self-regulatory skills after birth, infants depend on sensitive behavior of their parents to regulate affective states and physiological arousal. Dyadic affect regulation has been linked to various developmental patterns up to adolescence and thereby represents a key element of early social relationships. Aim of the study was to evaluate possible long-term consequences of emotional stress during pregnancy and postpartum anxiety disorders, as well as infant postpartum cortisol reactivity on mother–child-interaction at pre-school age. The sample comprised of N = 63 mother–infant dyads at study entry, n = 28 diagnosed with postpartum anxiety disorders according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM-IV), n = 35 were healthy controls. Mothers were interviewed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Disorders at an average infant age of M = 4.1 months and filled out a questionnaire regarding emotional stress during pregnancy. Further, they were videotaped during the Face-to-Face-Still-Face paradigm (FFSF), a widely used mild socio-emotional stressor for infants. To determine infant stress-reactivity, infant salivary cortisol was collected before, immediately after and 20 min after the FFSF. Missing values were estimated by multiple imputations. At the age of M = 5.3 years, mother-child-interaction was re-assessed in a follow-up sample of n = 30 dyads via a free-play situation. Moreover, dimensional measures for anxiety were assessed. Mothers in the clinical group reported significantly higher stress scores than the control group. Infant stress reactivity in the early postpartum period and maternal anxiety symptoms at the 5-year follow-up assessment were significantly associated with dyadic interaction quality at pre-school age. Even though maternal stress during pregnancy did not directly predict mother–child interaction quality at pre-school age, it was significantly correlated with infant cortisol reactivity during postpartum period. Nevertheless, caution should be taken when interpreting the results considering the small sample size.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Emotional Stress During Pregnancy – Associations With Maternal Anxiety Disorders, Infant Cortisol Reactivity, and Mother–Child Interaction at Pre-school Age

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In addition, while recent studies often control for postpartum stress (e.g., Neuenschwander et al, 2018), few studies assess the impact of the continuation of maternal stress or mental health concerns into the postpartum period on child socioemotional development and mental health (Madigan et al, 2018). When studies include postpartum stress, they generally do so as a statistical covariate or by examining the relative predictive roles of prenatal and postnatal stress, independent of each other (e.g., Neuenschwander et al, 2018;O'Connor, Heron, Golding, Glover, & ALSPAC Study Team, 2003). Further, researchers focusing on postnatal stress are rarely able to control for prenatal stress.…”

Section: Cascades Of Stressmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Developmental Cascade from Prenatal Stress to Child Internalizing and Externalizing Problems

Hentges

Graham

Plamondon

et al. 2019

Journal of Pediatric Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective This study utilized a developmental cascade approach to test alternative theories about the underlying mechanisms behind the association of maternal prenatal stress and child psychopathology. The fetal programming hypothesis suggests that prenatal stress affects fetal structural and physiological systems responsible for individual differences in child temperament, which further increases risk for internalizing and externalizing problems. Interpersonal models of stress transmission suggest that maternal stress influences child mental health via early parenting behaviors. We also examined a continuation of stress hypothesis, in which prenatal stress predicts child mental health via the continuation of maternal stress in the postpartum period. Methods Participants were 1,992 mother–child pairs drawn from a prospective pregnancy cohort. Mothers reported on their perceived stress, anxiety, and depression during pregnancy and at 4-month postpartum. Birthweight was assessed via medical records of birthweight. At 4-month postpartum, hostile-reactive parenting behaviors were assessed. Child temperamental negative affect was measured at age 3. Child internalizing and externalizing problems were assessed at age 5. Results Prenatal stress was associated with both internalizing and externalizing problems via postnatal stress and child temperament. Prenatal stress was also associated with externalizing behaviors via increased hostile-reactive parenting. After accounting for postnatal factors, prenatal stress continued to have a direct effect on child internalizing, but not externalizing, symptoms. Conclusion Results provide support for the fetal programming, interpersonal stress transmission, and continuation of stress models. Findings highlight the need for prenatal preventative programs that continue into the early postnatal period, targeting maternal stress and parenting behaviors.

show abstract

“…A recent study exploring prenatal mood disturbances and executive functioning in school-age children found that cortisol reactivity mediated the association between depressed and/or anxious prenatal maternal mood and executive functioning, but only in boys. Specifically, prenatal maternal mood was negatively associated with children's executive functioning via heightened cortisol reactivity to a lab stress challenge ( Neuenschwander et al, 2018 ).…”

Section: Hpa Axis and The Immune Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuroendocrine and immune pathways from pre- and perinatal stress to substance abuse

Horn

Roos

Berkman

et al. 2018

Neurobiology of Stress

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Early life adversity is a documented risk factor for substance abuse and addiction. The pre- and perinatal period (i.e., from implantation, through pregnancy, to 6 months of age) is a critical period marked by high biological plasticity and vulnerability, making perinatal stress a particularly robust form of adversity. The neuroendocrine and immune systems are key mechanisms implicated in the transmission of addiction risk. We review animal and human studies that provide preliminary evidence for links between perinatal stress, neuroendocrine and immune dysregulation, and risk for substance abuse and addiction. A translational neuroscience perspective is employed to elucidate pre- and perinatally-induced biological mechanisms linked to addiction and discuss implications for prevention and intervention efforts. Significant evidence supports associations between pre- and perinatal stress and dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and immune systems as well as links between neuroendocrine/immune functioning and addiction risk. More work is needed to explicitly examine the interplay between pre- and perinatal stress and neuroendocrine/immune disruptions that together heighten substance abuse risk. Future work is needed to fully understand how pre- and perinatal stress induces biological alterations to predispose individuals to higher risk for addiction. Such knowledge will strengthen theoretically-driven and empirically-supported prevention efforts for substance abuse and addiction.

show abstract

Children's stress regulation mediates the association between prenatal maternal mood and child executive functions for boys, but not girls

Cited by 26 publications

References 123 publications

Emotional Stress During Pregnancy – Associations With Maternal Anxiety Disorders, Infant Cortisol Reactivity, and Mother–Child Interaction at Pre-school Age

Emotional Stress During Pregnancy – Associations With Maternal Anxiety Disorders, Infant Cortisol Reactivity, and Mother–Child Interaction at Pre-school Age

A Developmental Cascade from Prenatal Stress to Child Internalizing and Externalizing Problems

Neuroendocrine and immune pathways from pre- and perinatal stress to substance abuse

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About