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Updated: Mar 6, 2026

Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants
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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

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Interaction between prenatal maternal stress and autonomic arousal in predicting conduct problems and psychopathic

Yu Gao1, Yonglin Huang2, Xiaobo Li3

  • 1Department of Psychology, Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, Brooklyn, NY.

Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment
|March 14, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Prenatal maternal stress and low autonomic arousal interact to predict antisocial behavior and psychopathic traits in children. This highlights the importance of biosocial factors in understanding behavioral development.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Behavioral Genetics

Background:

  • Antisocial behavior and psychopathic traits develop from a combination of neurobiological deficits and psychosocial risk factors.
  • The interplay between prenatal maternal stress and autonomic arousal is crucial in understanding these developmental pathways.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the combined influence of prenatal maternal stress and autonomic arousal on the development of antisocial behavior and psychopathic traits in children.
  • To explore the interaction effects between prenatal stress and physiological arousal markers.

Main Methods:

  • Assessed prenatal maternal stress via caregiver retrospective reports.
  • Measured resting heart rate and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) in 295 children aged 8–10 years.
  • Collected child and caregiver reports on antisocial behavior and psychopathic traits.

Main Results:

  • Higher prenatal maternal stress correlated with increased antisocial and psychopathy scores, independent of social adversity.
  • Low heart rate and high RSA were associated with higher antisocial and psychopathic traits.
  • Significant interactions revealed that prenatal stress predicted psychopathic traits primarily under conditions of low physiological arousal (low heart rate or high RSA).

Conclusions:

  • Findings support a biosocial model for understanding antisocial and psychopathic traits.
  • Integrating biological (autonomic arousal) and psychosocial (prenatal stress) measures is essential for comprehending the etiology of behavioral problems.
Abstract

Keywords:
antisocial behaviorheart rateprenatal maternal stresspsychopathyvagal tone

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