Infant Adrenocortical Reactivity and Behavioral Functioning: Relation to Early Exposure to Maternal Intimate Partner Violence

Overview

Journal Stress

Publisher Informa Healthcare

Specialties Biology
Neurology

Date 2015 Oct 21

PMID 26482431

Citations 8

Authors

Alytia A Levendosky

G Anne Bogat

Joseph S Lonstein

Cecilia Martinez-Torteya

Maria Muzik

Douglas A Granger

Alexander von Eye

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Prenatal stress negatively affects fetal development, which in turn may affect infant hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis regulation and behavioral functioning. We examined effects of exposure to a traumatic stressor in families [intimate partner violence (IPV)] on both infants' HPA axis reactivity to stress and their internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Infants (n = 182, 50% girls, x age = 11.77 months) were exposed to a laboratory challenge task designed to induce frustration and anger (i.e. arm restraint). Saliva samples were taken pre-task and 20 and 40 min post-task and then assayed for cortisol. Mothers reported on their pregnancy and postpartum IPV history, current mental health, substance use and their infants' behaviors. Structural equation modeling revealed that prenatal, but not postnatal, IPV was independently associated with infant cortisol reactivity and problem behavior. Maternal mental health predicted infant behavioral functioning but not infant HPA axis reactivity. These findings are consistent with the prenatal programing hypothesis; that is, early life stress affects later risk and vulnerability for altered physiological and behavioral regulation.

Citing Articles

Could children exposed to intimate partner violence against their mother have more functional gastrointestinal disorders?.

Carneiro J, Silva E, Silva G, Ludermir A J Pediatr (Rio J). 2023; 99(6):617-625.

PMID: 37356811 PMC: 10594019. DOI: 10.1016/j.jped.2023.05.010.

Longitudinal prospective study examining the effects of the timing of prenatal stress on infant and child regulatory functioning: the Michigan Prenatal Stress Study protocol.

Levendosky A, Bogat G, Lonstein J, Muzik M, Nuttall A BMJ Open. 2021; 11(9):e054964.

PMID: 34535489 PMC: 8451297. DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-054964.

Socioeconomic risk moderates the association between caregiver cortisol levels and infant cortisol reactivity to emotion induction at 24 months.

Braren S, Perry R, Ursache A, Blair C Dev Psychobiol. 2019; 61(4):573-591.

PMID: 30820941 PMC: 6488391. DOI: 10.1002/dev.21832.

Maternal witness to intimate partner violence during childhood and prenatal family functioning alter newborn cortisol reactivity.

Parade S, Newland R, Bublitz M, Stroud L Stress. 2019; 22(2):190-199.

PMID: 30676172 PMC: 6685200. DOI: 10.1080/10253890.2018.1501019.

Neuroendocrine and immune pathways from pre- and perinatal stress to substance abuse.

Horn S, Roos L, Berkman E, Fisher P Neurobiol Stress. 2018; 9:140-150.

PMID: 30450380 PMC: 6236513. DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2018.09.004.

References

Granger D, Kivlighan K, Fortunato C, Harmon A, Hibel L, Schwartz E . Integration of salivary biomarkers into developmental and behaviorally-oriented research: problems and solutions for collecting specimens. Physiol Behav. 2007; 92(4):583-90. DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2007.05.004. View

Kitraki E, Alexis M, Papalopoulou M, Stylianopoulou F . Glucocorticoid receptor gene expression in the embryonic rat brain. Neuroendocrinology. 1996; 63(4):305-17. DOI: 10.1159/000126971. View

Ramsay D, Lewis M . Reactivity and regulation in cortisol and behavioral responses to stress. Child Dev. 2003; 74(2):456-64. DOI: 10.1111/1467-8624.7402009. View

Schuetze P, Lopez F, Granger D, Eiden R . The association between prenatal exposure to cigarettes and cortisol reactivity and regulation in 7-month-old infants. Dev Psychobiol. 2008; 50(8):819-34. PMC: 2585825. DOI: 10.1002/dev.20334. View

Del Giudice M, Ellis B, Shirtcliff E . The Adaptive Calibration Model of stress responsivity. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2010; 35(7):1562-92. PMC: 3068241. DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2010.11.007. View

Sameroff A, Seifer R, Baldwin A, Baldwin C . Stability of intelligence from preschool to adolescence: the influence of social and family risk factors. Child Dev. 1993; 64(1):80-97. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1993.tb02896.x. View

Ulfig N, Setzer M, Bohl J . Ontogeny of the human amygdala. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2003; 985:22-33. DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2003.tb07068.x. View

SARASON I, Johnson J, Siegel J . Assessing the impact of life changes: development of the Life Experiences Survey. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1978; 46(5):932-46. DOI: 10.1037//0022-006x.46.5.932. View

Gee D, Humphreys K, Flannery J, Goff B, Telzer E, Shapiro M . A developmental shift from positive to negative connectivity in human amygdala-prefrontal circuitry. J Neurosci. 2013; 33(10):4584-93. PMC: 3670947. DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3446-12.2013. View

10.

Talge N, Neal C, Glover V . Antenatal maternal stress and long-term effects on child neurodevelopment: how and why?. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2007; 48(3-4):245-61. PMC: 11016282. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2006.01714.x. View

11.

Coffey S, Gudmundsdottir B, Beck J, Palyo S, Miller L . Screening for PTSD in motor vehicle accident survivors using the PSS-SR and IES. J Trauma Stress. 2006; 19(1):119-28. PMC: 1424666. DOI: 10.1002/jts.20106. View

12.

Eiden R, Granger D, Schuetze P, Veira Y . Child behavior problems among cocaine-exposed toddlers: indirect and interactive effects. Dev Psychopathol. 2013; 23(2):539-50. PMC: 3695418. DOI: 10.1017/S0954579411000058. View

13.

Huizink A, Dick D, Sihvola E, Pulkkinen L, Rose R, Kaprio J . Chernobyl exposure as stressor during pregnancy and behaviour in adolescent offspring. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2007; 116(6):438-46. PMC: 2139904. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2007.01050.x. View

14.

Flinn M, Nepomnaschy P, Muehlenbein M, Ponzi D . Evolutionary functions of early social modulation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis development in humans. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2011; 35(7):1611-29. DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2011.01.005. View

15.

Jansen J, Beijers R, Riksen-Walraven M, de Weerth C . Cortisol reactivity in young infants. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2009; 35(3):329-38. DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2009.07.008. View

16.

Shentu Y, Xie M . A note on dichotomization of continuous response variable in the presence of contamination and model misspecification. Stat Med. 2010; 29(21):2200-14. DOI: 10.1002/sim.3966. View

17.

McEwen B . Effects of adverse experiences for brain structure and function. Biol Psychiatry. 2000; 48(8):721-31. DOI: 10.1016/s0006-3223(00)00964-1. View

18.

Pruessner J, Kirschbaum C, Meinlschmid G, Hellhammer D . Two formulas for computation of the area under the curve represent measures of total hormone concentration versus time-dependent change. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2003; 28(7):916-31. DOI: 10.1016/s0306-4530(02)00108-7. View

19.

Kessler R, Wethington E . The reliability of life event reports in a community survey. Psychol Med. 1991; 21(3):723-38. DOI: 10.1017/s0033291700022364. View

20.

Bergman K, Sarkar P, OConnor T, Modi N, Glover V . Maternal stress during pregnancy predicts cognitive ability and fearfulness in infancy. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2007; 46(11):1454-63. DOI: 10.1097/chi.0b013e31814a62f6. View