Department of Psychology, California State University, Dominguez Hills.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago.
Dev Psychol. 2024 Sep;60(9):1733-1745. doi: 10.1037/dev0001695. Epub 2024 Feb 15.
Exposure to high levels of stress during pregnancy is a known risk factor for a wide range of offspring outcomes, but little is known about the biopsychosocial factors underlying resilience and recovery from stress during pregnancy. The current study investigated associations between emotional and instrumental support during pregnancy and resilience to stress during pregnancy, including perceived resilience (belief in ability to "bounce back" from adversity) and physiological resilience (ability to physiologically recover quickly after an acute stressor). We further tested whether support and resilience during pregnancy predicted offspring internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Participants included 130 pregnant women (ages 26-28 years; 58% Black, 27% White, 15% Multiracial; 28% receiving public assistance) from a population-based longitudinal study. During pregnancy, participants reported on emotional and instrumental support, current life stressors, and perceived resilience to stress. In addition, heart rate variability was recorded continuously before, during, and after a controlled stress test to measure physiological recovery from stressors. When offspring were 2-3 years of age, mothers reported on children's internalizing and externalizing problems. Results from moderated mediation analyses indicated that emotional, but not instrumental, support was associated with perceived resilience during pregnancy, which predicted lower internalizing and externalizing problems in offspring. Emotional support also predicted greater physiological recovery during pregnancy, but only for individuals reporting multiple life stressors. Findings suggest that emotional support may influence psychological and physiological responses to stress during pregnancy, with implications for offspring emotional and behavioral health. Clinical implications of these results and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
怀孕期间暴露于高水平的压力是一系列后代结局的已知风险因素，但对于怀孕期间压力的恢复和适应的生物心理社会因素知之甚少。目前的研究调查了怀孕期间的情感和工具支持与怀孕期间压力适应之间的关联，包括感知的适应能力（相信自己有能力“从逆境中恢复”）和生理适应能力（在急性应激源后能够快速生理恢复）。我们进一步测试了怀孕期间的支持和适应能力是否可以预测后代的内化和外化行为。参与者包括来自一项基于人群的纵向研究的 130 名孕妇（年龄 26-28 岁；58%黑人，27%白人，15%多种族；28%接受公共援助）。在怀孕期间，参与者报告了情感和工具支持、当前生活压力源以及对压力的感知适应能力。此外，连续记录了心率变异性，以在受控应激测试之前、期间和之后测量从应激源中恢复的生理能力。当孩子 2-3 岁时，母亲报告了孩子的内化和外化问题。调节中介分析的结果表明，情感支持，而不是工具支持，与怀孕期间的感知适应能力相关，这预测了后代内化和外化问题的减少。情感支持还预测了怀孕期间更大的生理恢复，但仅适用于报告多种生活压力源的个体。研究结果表明，情感支持可能会影响怀孕期间对压力的心理和生理反应，对后代的情绪和行为健康有影响。讨论了这些结果的临床意义和未来研究方向。
