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From prenatal maternal anxiety and respiratory sinus arrhythmia to toddler internalizing problems: The role of infant

Anna M Zhou1, Mengyu Miranda Gao2, Brendan Ostlund3

  • 1Department of Psychology, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.

Development and Psychopathology
|September 20, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Maternal prenatal anxiety links to infant negative affectivity, which predicts toddler internalizing problems. Physiological responses to infant cries during pregnancy also impact child outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Maternal Mental Health
  • Child Psychology

Background:

  • Prenatal maternal anxiety is a known risk factor for child internalizing problems.
  • Mechanisms linking maternal anxiety to child outcomes require further investigation.
  • Understanding these pathways is crucial for early intervention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the indirect associations between prenatal maternal anxiety and toddler internalizing problems.
  • To examine the mediating roles of prenatal maternal physiology and infant negative affectivity.
  • To explore the impact of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) reactivity to infant cries.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study of 162 expectant mothers from third trimester to 18 months postpartum.
  • Path analyses were used to examine indirect effects.
  • Measures included prenatal maternal anxiety, infant negative affectivity, and RSA in response to infant cry.

Main Results:

  • Higher prenatal anxiety predicted higher infant negative affectivity at 7 months, which predicted toddler internalizing problems at 18 months.
  • Prenatal anxiety was not linked to child outcomes via baseline or task-evoked RSA.
  • Decreased task-evoked RSA in pregnant women predicted greater toddler internalizing problems, mediated by infant negative affectivity.

Conclusions:

  • Prenatal anxiety and RSA reactivity to infant cries may independently increase risk for infant negative affectivity.
  • Infant negative affectivity acts as a mediator for the development of toddler internalizing problems.
  • Findings elucidate mechanisms in the intergenerational transmission of internalizing problems.

Keywords:
internalizing problemsnegative affectivityprenatal anxietyrespiratory sinus arrhythmia

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