Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
Psychosocial Research Unit, Douglas Research Centre, Verdun, Canada.
Dev Psychopathol. 2024 May;36(2):893-907. doi: 10.1017/S0954579423000160. Epub 2023 Apr 20.
Prenatal maternal stress and mental health problems are known to increase risk for developmental psychopathology in offspring, yet pathways leading to risk or resiliency are poorly understood. In a quasi-experimental design, we prospectively examined associations between disaster-related prenatal stress, maternal mental health symptoms, and infant temperament outcomes. Mothers who were pregnant during Hurricane Harvey ( = 527) reported on objective hardships (e.g., loss of belongings or income, evacuation, home flooding) related to the storm and subsequent mental health symptoms (anxiety/depression, posttraumatic stress) across time. At a postpartum assessment, mothers reported on their infant's temperament (negative affect, positive affect, orienting/regulatory capacity). Greater objective hardship indirectly predicted higher levels of infant orienting/regulatory capacity through its association with increased maternal posttraumatic stress symptoms. Greater objective hardship also indirectly predicted higher levels of infant negative affect through its association with increased maternal anxiety/depression symptoms across time. Our findings suggest a psychological mechanism linking prenatal stress with specific temperamental characteristics via maternal mental health symptoms. Findings point to the importance of high-quality assessment and mental health services for vulnerable women and young children.
产前母体压力和心理健康问题已知会增加后代发展性精神病理学的风险，但导致风险或弹性的途径仍知之甚少。在一项准实验设计中，我们前瞻性地研究了与灾难相关的产前压力、母亲心理健康症状与婴儿气质结果之间的关联。在哈维飓风期间怀孕的母亲（n=527）报告了与风暴相关的客观困难（例如，财产或收入损失、疏散、房屋被洪水淹没）和随后的心理健康症状（焦虑/抑郁、创伤后应激）。在产后评估中，母亲报告了婴儿的气质（消极情绪、积极情绪、定向/调节能力）。通过与创伤后应激症状的关联，客观困难越大，间接预示着婴儿定向/调节能力越高。通过与母亲焦虑/抑郁症状的关联，客观困难越大，间接预示着婴儿消极情绪越高。我们的研究结果表明，产前压力通过母亲心理健康症状与特定气质特征之间存在心理机制。研究结果表明，为弱势妇女和幼儿提供高质量的评估和心理健康服务非常重要。
