Prenatal stress and child externalizing behavior: effects of maternal perceived stress and cortisol are moderated by child sex

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health

Research

Leonie Fleck¹  Franz Resch¹  Anna Fuchs¹  Michael Kaess²  Julian Koenig³  Eva Moehler⁴  Silvano Sele⁵ 

[1] Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre for Psychosocial Medicine, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany;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;Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany;Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Saarland University Medical Center, Homburg, Germany;University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland;

关键词: Externalizing behavior;    Prenatal Stress;    Cortisol;    Sex differences;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13034-023-00639-2

 received in 2023-03-02, accepted in 2023-07-04,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundExternalizing 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.Method108 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.ResultsPerceived 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/ConclusionPrenatal 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.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023

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