Maternal antenatal anxiety and children's behavioural/emotional problems at 4 years: Report from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children

Animal experiments suggest that maternal stress and anxiety during pregnancy have long-term effects on the behaviour of the offspring. To test the hypothesis that antenatal maternal anxiety predicts behavioural problems at age 4 years. Data were collected on multiple antenatal and postnatal assessme...

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Veröffentlicht in:British journal of psychiatry 2002-06, Vol.180 (6), p.502-508
Hauptverfasser: O'CONNOR, THOMAS G, HERON, JONATHON, GOLDING, JEAN, BEVERIDGE, MICHAEL, GLOVER, VIVETTE
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:Animal experiments suggest that maternal stress and anxiety during pregnancy have long-term effects on the behaviour of the offspring. To test the hypothesis that antenatal maternal anxiety predicts behavioural problems at age 4 years. Data were collected on multiple antenatal and postnatal assessments of maternal anxiety and depression, antenatal and obstetric risks, psychosocial risks and children's behavioural/emotional problems (n=7448). Antenatal maternal anxiety predicted behavioural/emotional problems in boys (OR=2.14, 95% CI 1.48-3.10) and girls (OR=1.88, 95% CI 1.3-2.69) after accounting for covariates. When covarying maternal anxiety up to 33 months postnatally, antenatal anxiety continued to predict total problems in boys (OR=1.56, 95% CI 1.02-2.41) and girls (OR=1.51, 95% CI 1.22-2.81). There could be a direct effect of maternal mood on foetal brain development, which affects the behavioural development of the child.
ISSN:0007-1250
1472-1465
DOI:10.1192/bjp.180.6.502