Poster #51 - A Developmental Cascade From Prenatal Stress to Child Mental Health: A Prospective Pregnancy Cohort Study

• In Event: 2-110 - Poster Session 07
  In Poster Session: PS 07 Section - Developmental Psychopathology

Integrative Statement

Recent advancements in research have suggested that the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) can be traced back to events that occur prior to birth (Gillman, 2005). For example, research with both animals and humans have found associations between prenatal stress and offspring maladjustment, including anxious and depressive behaviors, heightened emotional reactivity, and aggression (Abe et al., 2007; Eaton, Edmonds, Henry, Snellgrove, & Sloman, 2015; Gutteling et al., 2005; Van den Bergh, Van Calster, Smits, Van Huffel, & Lagae, 2008). In examining the underlying mechanisms of these associations, researchers often cite the Fetal Programming Hypothesis, which postulates that exposure to stressors during gestation “programmes persisting changes in a range of metabolic, physiological, and structural parameters” (Barker, 1995, p. 171). Interpersonal models of stress transmission offer the alternative hypothesis that maternal stress and depression impacts child development through its spill-over onto early parent-infant interactions (Hammen, Shih, & Brennan, 2004). There is a notable lack of longitudinal research that examines how the interconnected processes of maternal stress, neonatal health, parenting, child temperament, and child mental health problems unfold over time. Thus, the objective of this study is to simultaneously model Fetal Programming (i.e., fetal maturation, child temperament) and Interpersonal Transmission effects (i.e., hostile parenting) in a developmental cascade model, which allows for the examination of how early predictors cumulatively influence a developmental outcome over time through multiple processes (Masten & Cicchetti, 2010).

Participants were 1,992 mother-child pairs drawn from a large urban prospective pregnancy cohort . During the prenatal period (< 35 weeks gestation) mothers reported on their perceived stress, anxiety, and depression. Fetal maturation was assessed via medical records on neonatal birthweight and gestational age. At 4 months post-partum, mothers again reported on their levels of stress, anxiety, and depression as well as hostile-reactive parenting behaviors. Child temperament (i.e., negative emotionality) was measured when children were 3 years old. At age 5, mothers completed the Behavior Assessment System for Children- Second Edition (BASC-2; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2007) to assess child internalizing and externalizing problems. Covariates included child sex, maternal age, maternal education, and family income. See Table 1 for more information about the measurements.

Results of the developmental cascade model are presented in Figure 1. We examined the indirect effects of prenatal stress on child internalizing and externalizing symptoms through its association with fetal maturation, parenting, postpartum maternal stress, and child negative emotionality using the bootstrapping procedure in MPlus 8.0. Prenatal stress was associated with both internalizing and externalizing problems through the effects of postnatal stress and negative emotionality. However, prenatal stress was uniquely associated with externalizing behaviors through its positive effect on hostile-reactive parenting. Notably, there continued to be a direct effect of prenatal stress on child internalizing problems, but not externalizing problems. Results provide partial support for both the fetal programming and interpersonal stress transmission models. Findings highlight the need for both prenatal and early postnatal intervention programs targeting maternal stress and parenting to reduce child mental health risks.

Authors

• Rochelle Hentges, University of Calgary
  Presenting Author

• Susan Graham, University of Calgary
  Non-Presenting Author

• Andre Plamondon, Université Laval
  Non-Presenting Author

• Suzanne Tough, Department of Pediatrics, University of Calgary
  Non-Presenting Author

• Sheri Madigan, University of Calgary and the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Calgary
  Non-Presenting Author