Prenatal Maternal Stress and Child Psychophysiology as Predictors of Externalizing Behavior in Children

• In Event: Stressful Event Exposure as a Predictor of Antisocial Behavior: Considering Gender and Physiological Functioning

Abstract

The fetal programming hypothesis posits that conditions, including environmental stressors, that a pregnant individual experiences may influence neural mechanisms that act as risk factors for suboptimal psychophysiological functioning and neurobehavioral problems, such as externalizing behaviors. Low resting heart rate is arguably the best-replicated psychophysiological measure of autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity that predicts externalizing behaviors. However, prior research on the link between resting heart rate and externalizing behavior has primarily investigated White children. The current study uses data from an ethnically and racially diverse community sample (49.7% Hispanic) of 287 children (mean age = 3.26 years, 53.8% male) to examine relationships between maternal prenatal stress, child resting heart rate, and externalizing behaviors based on mothers’ report of the Behavioral Assessment Scale for Children. 33% of mothers were pregnant during Hurricane Sandy and living in an affected region. Preliminary analyses showed that storm exposure severity predicted child hyperactivity, but it did not mediate through resting heart rate. This research has implications for understanding the potential impact of stressful events during pregnancy on behaviors among minority children and could promote health equity by examining developmental impacts of recent stress-inducing global events.

Authors

• AnaCristina Bedoya, University of Massachusetts Lowell

• Jill Portnoy, University of Massachusetts Lowell

• Yoko Nomura, Queens College, CUNY