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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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Prenatal Superstorm Sandy stress and postnatal affectionless control as a conjoint risk for child psychopathology

Sarah O'Neill1,2, Patricia M Pehme3, Barbara Kinsella-Kammerer4

  • 1CUNY City College, Department of Psychology, 160 Convent Avenue, New York, NY 10031, USA.

Journal of Child and Family Studies
|May 1, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Prenatal stress from Superstorm Sandy combined with negative parenting significantly increases young children's risk for anxiety and disruptive behavior disorders. These combined effects pose a synergistic risk, highlighting the need for targeted interventions.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Child Psychiatry
  • Environmental Health

Background:

  • Prenatal stress exposure is linked to adverse child developmental outcomes.
  • Parenting styles, particularly those characterized by low affection and high control, can impact child psychopathology.
  • Understanding the interplay of prenatal adversity and early parenting is crucial for identifying at-risk children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the combined effects of prenatal Superstorm Sandy stress and postnatal affectionless control on early childhood psychopathology.
  • To determine if the combined risk for disorders is synergistic, exceeding the sum of individual risks.
  • To identify children at high risk for psychopathology due to these combined exposures.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study of 154 children from ages 2-5 years.
  • Maternal affectionless control assessed via the Parental Bonding Instrument.
  • Child psychopathology diagnosed using the Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment and clinical interviews based on DSM-IV criteria.

Main Results:

  • Children exposed to both prenatal Superstorm Sandy stress and maternal affectionless control showed significantly higher risks for disorders.
  • Over 5-fold increased risk for any anxiety disorder, 12-fold for disruptive behavior disorders, and nearly 5-fold for any disorder.
  • Synergistic effects were observed, with combined risks exceeding the sum of independent risks.

Conclusions:

  • The conjoint effect of prenatal stress and affectionless control presents a synergistic risk for childhood psychopathology.
  • Identifying children with dual exposure is critical for early intervention.
  • Findings can inform the development of multi-level interventions to mitigate child psychopathology.

Keywords:
Affectionless controlChild psychopathologyPostnatal parentingPrenatal stress

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