Predictability of Maternal Mood and Risk for Child Psychopathology

• In Event: 1-206 - Early life exposure to unpredictable maternal signals influences child development: A cross species approach.

Integrative Statement

Elevated maternal psychological distress during the pre and postnatal periods has been repeatedly linked to a range of adverse birth and child developmental outcomes. However, questions remain as to the specific mechanisms by which these maternal signals affect fetal and infant development. Compelling animal models suggest that patterns and sequences in maternal signals, including predictability and entropy, may exert critical influences on the developing brain (Baram, 2012). Here we test the hypothesis that increased mood unpredictability, independent from levels of maternal psychological distress during the prenatal period, will confer risk for child internalizing disorders. This hypothesis was examined in two large independent cohorts of women and their offspring, examined prospectively beginning at 15 weeks’ gestation. In both cohorts, maternal depressive symptoms, anxiety and perceived stress were assessed at multiple time points both pre and postnatally. To characterize predictability or consistency of mood, an entropy score was calculated by applying Shannon’s entropy to the distribution of responses on the mood questionnaires (Cover & Thomas, 2006). In Cohort 1 (n = 407) the temperament dimension of negative affectivity (Infant Behavior Questionnaire/ECBQ/CBQ, c.f. Gartstein & Rothbart, 2003) was assessed by maternal report at 3, 6, 12, 24, months and 7 years of age. In addition, child self-reports of anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children, Spielberger et al. 1973) at 10 years and depression (Children’s Depression Inventory, Kovacs, 2011) at 13 years of age were collected. In Cohort 2 (n = 198) maternal report of negative affectivity was assessed at 2, 6, 12 and 24 months of age and negative affective responses were coded from the still face paradigm (Tronick et al., 1978) at 12 months. In both cohorts, more unpredictable maternal mood was associated with maternal reports of increased negative affectivity (Figure 1). Further, more unpredictable maternal mood was associated with increased child reports of internalizing symptoms in Cohort 1 (Figure 2) as well as more negative affect in the still face behavioral assessment in Cohort 2 (all p’s< 05). These results remain statistically significant after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics including maternal IQ, socioeconomic status, cohabitation with the child’s father, and also for levels of maternal psychological distress during both the pre and postnatal periods. These findings suggest that maternal mood predictability may be a determinant of developmental mental health trajectories and should be considered when assessing early life influences on lifespan mental health.

Authors

• Laura Glynn, Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences; Psychology
  Presenting Author

• Curt Sandman, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Irvine
  Non-Presenting Author

• Mariann Howland, Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota
  Non-Presenting Author