Moderators and Protective Factors for Pre- and Post-natal Maternal Distress Associations with Child Neurodevelopmental Outcomes

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

The perinatal environment critically shapes offspring development. In particular, maternal pre- and post-natal stress and depression are well-known predictors of child neurodevelopment, although integrative understandings of heterogeneous findings are lacking. Further, few studies have examined potential moderators of these associations, which might further elucidate malleable environmental factors that could buffer the impact of intergenerational maternal distress on child neurodevelopmental problems. This symposium has two main aims. First, leveraging meta-analytic findings from 55 studies, Study 1 will provide a rich synthesis of the effects of maternal postnatal depression on child early learning and development, and will examine moderators of these associations. Second, the symposium will explore malleable protective factors for the intergenerational association between maternal prenatal distress and offspring socioemotional and behavioral development using two longitudinal pregnancy cohorts representing populations that are diverse and under-represented in extant literature. Study 2 takes a novel, multi-dimensional approach to examine intergenerational maternal prenatal stress and early child socioemotional and behavioral development in a large, diverse sample, and examines multiple malleable environmental factors as potential moderators of the association. Finally, Study 3 examines associations between prenatal acculturative stress and discrimination and infant emotional development in a longitudinal pregnancy cohort of racial/ethnic minority mother-child dyads, as well as potential pre- and post-natal protective factors. A leading maternal-child health expert will guide an integrative reflection and/or discussion regarding protective factors of the intergenerational association between maternal distress and child neurodevelopment, opportunities for future study design, and implications for programs of intervention.

Sub Unit

• Developmental Psychopathology

Chair

• Shaikh I. Ahmad, University of California - San Francisco

Discussant

• Nicole R Bush, University of California - San Francisco

Individual Presentations

• A Meta-Analysis of Maternal Postnatal Depressive Symptoms and Children’s Cognitive and Developmental Outcomes - Presenting Author: Nicole Racine, University of Ottawa; Non-Presenting Author: Pauline Wu, University of Calgary; Non-Presenting Author: Rachel Pagaling, University of Calgary; Non-Presenting Author: Katarina Zumwalt, University of Calgary; Non-Presenting Author: Sheri Madigan, University of Calgary (U of C)

• Maternal Multi-Domain Prenatal Stress is Associated with Offspring Socioemotional Functioning - Presenting Author: Shaikh I. Ahmad, University of California - San Francisco; Non-Presenting Author: Kristen L Rudd, University of California - San Francisco; Non-Presenting Author: Kaja Z. LeWinn, University of California, San Francisco; Non-Presenting Author: Sheela Sathyanarayana, University of Washington; Non-Presenting Author: Catherine J. Karr, University of Washington; Non-Presenting Author: W. Alex Mason, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center; Non-Presenting Author: Frances Tylavsky, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center; Non-Presenting Author: Nicole R Bush, University of California - San Francisco

• Maternal Sociocultural Stress Predicts Infant Temperament: The Buffering Role of Self-Esteem, Self-Efficacy and Community Cohesion - Presenting Author: Sabrina R. Liu, University of California Irvine Conte Center; Non-Presenting Author: Curt Sandman, University of California, Irvine; Non-Presenting Author: Elysia Davis, University of Denver; Non-Presenting Author: Laura Glynn, Chapman University