Intergenerational risk and resilience pathways from discrimination and acculturative stress to infant mental health

Abstract

Preconception and prenatal stress impact fetal and infant development, and women of color are disproportionately exposed to sociocultural stressors like discrimination and acculturative stress. However, few studies examine links between mothers’ exposure to these stressors and offspring mental health, or possible mitigating factors. Using linear regression, we tested associations between prenatally assessed maternal acculturative stress and discrimination on infant negative emotionality among 113 Latinx/Hispanic, Asian American, Black, and Multiethnic mothers and their children. Additionally, we tested interactions between stressors and potential pre- and postnatal resilience-promoting factors: community cohesion, social support, communalism, and parenting self-efficacy. Discrimination and acculturative stress were related to more infant negative emotionality at approximately 12 months old (M = 12.6, SD = .75). In contrast, maternal report of parenting self-efficacy when infants were 6 months old was related to lower levels of infant negative emotionality. Further, higher levels of parenting self-efficacy mitigated the relation between acculturative stress and negative emotionality. Preconception and prenatal exposure to sociocultural stress may be a risk factor for poor offspring mental health. Maternal and child health researchers, policymakers, and practitioners should prioritize further understanding these relations, reducing exposure to sociocultural stressors, and promoting resilience.

Experience of discrimination reported during pregnancy and infant's emerging effortful control

“…Our findings were consistent with Liu et al. (2023), as we found that prenatal exposure to everyday discrimination predicted infant outcomes. Previous research with nonpregnant adults found that everyday discrimination may be more harmful than major lifetime discrimination (Ayalon & Gum, 2011).…”

“…There was some evidence that associations between everyday discrimination and emerging effortful control at 6 months of age were stronger for male than female infants. This finding stands in contrast to the stronger association among females for negative emotionality (Liu et al., 2023), which might be related to variations in the outcome under investigation. These findings should be interpreted cautiously and should be replicated in a larger sample.…”

“…Consistent with the DOHaD model, discrimination experienced preconception and prenatally by pregnant individuals is associated with poorer birth outcomes (Alhusen et al., 2016; Earnshaw et al., 2013; Giurgescu et al., 2011; Larrabee Sonderlund et al., 2021; Liu & Glynn, 2021; Liu, D'Anna‐Hernandez, et al., 2023). Emerging literature further suggests links with discrimination reported during pregnancy and offspring developmental outcomes (e.g., negative emotionality; Liu et al., 2023). For example, higher everyday discrimination reported during pregnancy predicts both higher infant behavioral inhibition/separation problems and negative emotionality at 6 months and 1 year of age (Liu et al., 2023; Rosenthal et al., 2018).…”

“…Emerging literature further suggests links with discrimination reported during pregnancy and offspring developmental outcomes (e.g., negative emotionality; Liu et al., 2023). For example, higher everyday discrimination reported during pregnancy predicts both higher infant behavioral inhibition/separation problems and negative emotionality at 6 months and 1 year of age (Liu et al., 2023; Rosenthal et al., 2018). While studies have linked prenatal discrimination to offspring negative emotionality, a risk factor for later psychopathology, there is a paucity of research examining other developmental outcomes that are susceptible to prenatal adversity.…”

Maternal Early Life Adversity and Infant Stress Regulation: Intergenerational Associations and Mediation by Maternal Prenatal Mental Health

“…The social context may clarify the intergenerational association of maternal early life adversity with offspring mental and physical health problems, including its potential mediation by prenatal mental health (Racine et al, 2020). Pregnancy is a sensitive period as mothers and infants are highly receptive to positive environmental influences (Davis & Narayan, 2020), including resilience-promoting factors (Atzl et al, 2019) such as social support (Liu et al, 2022;Collins et al, 1993;Hetherington et al, 2018). Therefore, as a second aim, we tested prenatal social support as a protective factor against internalizing symptoms for mothers and dysregulated stress responses for infants.…”