Fleck Leonie, Fuchs Anna, Sele Silvano, Moehler Eva, Koenig Julian, Resch Franz, Kaess Michael
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2023 Aug 7;17(1):94. doi: 10.1186/s13034-023-00639-2.
Externalizing behavior problems are related to social maladjustment. Evidence indicates associations between prenatal stress and child behavioral outcomes. It remains unclear how psychological distress vs. biological correlates of stress (cortisol) differentially predict externalizing behavior, and how their effects might differ as a function of child sex.
108 pregnant women from the community collected salivary cortisol and reported their perceived stress during each trimester of pregnancy. At child age 9 years (M = 9.01, SD = 0.55), 70 mothers and children reported on child behavior. Structural equation modelling was used to analyze how cortisol levels and perceived stress during pregnancy predicted current child externalizing behavior, considering the moderating effect of child sex.
Perceived stress predicted higher externalizing behavior in boys (β = 0.42, p = 0.009) and lower externalizing behavior in girls (β = - 0.56, p = 0.014). Cortisol predicted lower externalizing behavior in boys (β = - 0.81, p < .001) and was not related to girls' externalizing behavior (β = 0.37, p = 0.200).
DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Prenatal stress affected externalizing behavior differently in girls vs. boys. These response patters in turn differed for indicators of psychological vs. biological maternal stress, encouraging an integrated approach. Findings indicate that perceived stress and cortisol may affect child development via different trajectories.
外化行为问题与社会适应不良有关。有证据表明产前压力与儿童行为结果之间存在关联。目前尚不清楚心理困扰与压力的生物学相关因素（皮质醇）如何不同地预测外化行为，以及它们的影响如何因儿童性别而异。
108名来自社区的孕妇收集了唾液皮质醇，并报告了她们在孕期每个阶段所感知到的压力。在孩子9岁时（M = 9.01，标准差 = 0.55），70位母亲和孩子报告了孩子的行为情况。采用结构方程模型分析孕期皮质醇水平和感知到的压力如何预测当前儿童的外化行为，并考虑儿童性别的调节作用。
感知到的压力预测男孩有更高的外化行为（β = 0.42，p = 0.009），女孩有更低的外化行为（β = -0.56，p = 0.014）。皮质醇预测男孩有更低的外化行为（β = -0.81，p < 0.001），且与女孩的外化行为无关（β = 0.37，p = 0.200）。
讨论/结论：产前压力对女孩和男孩外化行为的影响不同。心理压力与母亲生物学压力指标的这些反应模式又有所不同，这鼓励采用综合方法。研究结果表明，感知到的压力和皮质醇可能通过不同轨迹影响儿童发育。
