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Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants
Published on: June 13, 2021
Changes in experiences with discrimination across pregnancy and postpartum: age differences and consequences for
Lisa Rosenthal1, Valerie A Earnshaw, Tené T Lewis
1Lisa Rosenthal is with the Psychology Department, Pace University, New York, NY. Valerie A. Earnshaw, Jessica B. Lewis, and Jeannette R. Ickovics are with the Yale School of Public Health and the Yale Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale University, New Haven, CT. Tené T. Lewis is with the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA. Allecia E. Reid is with the Psychology Department, Colby College, Waterville, ME. Emily C. Stasko is with the Department of Psychology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA. Jonathan N. Tobin is with the Clinical Directors Network, New York, NY.
Objectives:
We aimed to contribute to growing research and theory suggesting the importance of examining patterns of change over time and critical life periods to fully understand the effects of discrimination on health, with a focus on the period of pregnancy and postpartum and mental health outcomes.
Methods:
We used hierarchical linear modeling to examine changes across pregnancy and postpartum in everyday discrimination and the resulting consequences for mental health among predominantly Black and Latina, socioeconomically disadvantaged young women who were receiving prenatal care in New York City.
Results:
Patterns of change in experiences with discrimination varied according to age. Among the youngest participants, discrimination increased from the second to third trimesters and then decreased to lower than the baseline level by 1 year postpartum; among the oldest participants, discrimination decreased from the second trimester to 6 months postpartum and then returned to the baseline level by 1 year postpartum. Within-subjects changes in discrimination over time predicted changes in depressive and anxiety symptoms at subsequent points. Discrimination more strongly predicted anxiety symptoms among participants reporting food insecurity.
Conclusions:
Our results support a life course approach to understanding the impact of experiences with discrimination on health and when to intervene.
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