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Fetal Cortisol Exposure and Offspring Socioemotional Development
Ella-Marie P Hennessey1, Danielle A Swales2, Julie Markant3
1Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado, USA.
Developmental Psychobiology
|January 29, 2026
Summary
Prenatal cortisol exposure, measured via neonatal hair, influences infant attention to negative emotions. This research links fetal cortisol levels to early socioemotional development markers in infants.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Neuroendocrinology
- Infant Behavior
Background:
- Glucocorticoids are implicated in prenatal environment's influence on socioemotional development.
- Previous studies indirectly assessed fetal cortisol exposure, limiting direct links.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between neonatal hair cortisol concentrations and early socioemotional development markers.
- To examine if hair cortisol, an index of third-trimester fetal cortisol, predicts infant attention to affective faces and negative affectivity.
Main Methods:
- Collected neonatal hair samples from 107 mother-infant dyads shortly after birth.
- Assessed infant negative affectivity using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire at 6 months.
- Measured infant attention to affective faces using eye-tracking, analyzing overall and affect-biased attention.
Main Results:
- Higher neonatal hair cortisol concentrations correlated with increased infant attention to negative emotional faces (angry, sad).
- No significant associations were found between hair cortisol and infant negative affectivity or general attention measures.
- Infant attention to happy faces was not significantly associated with hair cortisol levels.
Conclusions:
- Neonatal hair cortisol concentrations serve as a viable biomarker for fetal cortisol exposure.
- Endogenous fetal cortisol exposure is linked to specific patterns of infant attention to affective stimuli.
- Findings suggest a pathway through which prenatal cortisol influences socioemotional development, particularly attention to negative emotions.
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