Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Exposure To Unpredictability And Mental Health: Validation Of The Brief Version Of The Questionnaire Of Unpredictability In Childhood (Quic-5) In English And Spanish, Natasha G. Lindert, Megan Y. Maxwell, Sabrina R. Liu, Hal S. Stern, Tallie Z. Baram, Elysia Poggi Davis, Victoria B. Risbrough, Dewleen G. Baker, Caroline M. Nievergelt, Laura M. Glynn

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Unpredictability is increasingly recognized as a primary dimension of early life adversity affecting lifespan mental health trajectories; screening for these experiences is therefore vital. The Questionnaire of Unpredictability in Childhood (QUIC) is a 38-item tool that measures unpredictability in childhood in social, emotional and physical domains. The available evidence indicates that exposure to unpredictable experiences measured with the QUIC predicts internalizing symptoms including depression and anxiety. The purpose of the present study was to validate English and Spanish brief versions (QUIC-5) suitable for administration in time-limited settings (e.g., clinical care settings, large-scale epidemiological studies). Five representative items were identified from …

Characterizing Prenatal Maternal Distress With Unique Prenatal Cortisol Trajectories, Gage Peterson, Emma V. Espel, Elyssia Poggi Davis, Curt A. Sandman, Laura M. Glynn

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Objective: It is widely assumed that glucocorticoids represent a primary mechanism through which exposure to adversity and maternal psychological distress shape prenatal developmental trajectories of both mother and fetus. However, despite repeated investigations and the fact that prenatal cortisol has been reliably linked to developmental outcomes, the empirical evidence supporting an association between prenatal cortisol and maternal distress is scarce. In this study, a novel approach to assessing links between maternal prenatal psychological distress and gestational cortisol profiles, general growth mixture modeling (GGMM), was applied. Method: Measures of pregnancy anxiety, perceived stress, and state anxiety and depressive symptoms as well …

The Influence Of Unpredictable, Fragmented Parental Signals On The Developing Brain, Laura M. Glynn, Tallie Z. Baram

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Mental illnesses originate early in life, governed by environmental and genetic factors. Because parents are a dominant source of signals to the developing child, parental signals - beginning with maternal signals in utero - are primary contributors to children’s mental health. Existing literature on maternal signals has focused almost exclusively on their quality and valence (e.g. maternal depression, sensitivity). Here we identify a novel dimension of maternal signals: their patterns and especially their predictability/unpredictability, as an important determinant of children’s neurodevelopment. We find that unpredictable maternal mood and behavior presage risk for child and adolescent psychopathology. In experimental models, fragmented/unpredictable …

Economic And Health Predictors Of National Postpartum Depression Prevalence: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis And Meta-Regression Of 308 Studies From 56 Countries, Jennifer Hahn-Holbrook, Taylor Cornwell-Hinrichs, Itzel Anaya

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Background: Postpartum depression (PPD) poses a major global public health challenge. PPD is the most common complication associated with childbirth and exerts harmful effects on children. Although hundreds of PPD studies have been published, we lack accurate global or national PPD prevalence estimates and have no clear account of why PPD appears to vary so dramatically between nations. Accordingly, we conducted a meta-analysis to estimate the global and national prevalence of PPD and a meta-regression to identify economic, health, social, or policy factors associated with national PPD prevalence.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review of all papers reporting …

Does Breastfeeding Offer Protection Against Maternal Depressive Symptomatology? A Prospective Study From Pregnancy To 2 Years After Birth, Jennifer Hahn-Holbrook, Martie G. Haselton, Christine Dunkel Schetter, Laura M. Glynn

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Depression is the leading cause of disability in women (Nobel 2005) and is the most prevalent of all childbearing-related illnesses, affecting approximately 13% of women worldwide within the first 12 [...] Mothers who breastfeed typically exhibit lower levels of depressive symptomatology than mothers who do not. However, very few studies have investigated the directionality of this relationship. Of the prospective studies published, all but one focus exclusively on whether maternal depression reduces rates of subsequent breastfeeding. This study again examines this relationship, but also the reverse--that breastfeeding might predict lower levels of later depression. Using multilevel modeling, we investigated the …

Prescient Human Fetuses Thrive, Curt A. Sandman, Elyssia Poggi Davis, Laura M. Glynn

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Fetal detection of adversity is a conserved trait that allows many species to adapt their early developmental trajectories to ensure survival. According to the fetal-programming model, exposure to stressful or hostile conditions in utero is associated with compromised development and a lifelong risk of adverse health outcomes. In a longitudinal study, we examined the consequences of prenatal and postnatal exposure to adversity for infant development. We found increased motor and mental development during the 1st year of life among infants whose mothers experienced congruent levels of depressive symptoms during and after pregnancy, even when the levels of symptoms were relatively …

Prenatal Maternal Stress Programs Infant Stress Regulation, Elyssia Poggi Davis, Laura M. Glynn, Feizal Waffarn, Curt A. Sandman

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Objective: Prenatal exposure to inappropriate levels of glucocorticoids (GCs) and maternal stress are putative mechanisms for the fetal programming of later health outcomes. The current investigation examined the influence of prenatal maternal cortisol and maternal psychosocial stress on infant physiological and behavioral responses to stress.

Methods: The study sample comprised 116 women and their full term infants. Maternal plasma cortisol and report of stress, anxiety and depression were assessed at 15, 19, 25, 31 and 36 + weeks' gestational age. Infant cortisol and behavioral responses to the painful stress of a heel-stick blood draw were evaluated at 24 hours after …

Elevated Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone In Human Pregnancy Increases The Risk Of Postpartum Depressive Symptoms, Ilona S. Yim, Laura M. Glynn, Christine Dunkel Schetter, Calvin J. Hobel, Aleksandra Chicz-Demet, Curt A. Sandman

Psychology Faculty Articles and Research

Postpartum depression (PPD) is common and has serious implications for the mother and her newborn. A possible link between placental corticotropin-releasing hormone (pCRH) and PPD incidence has been discussed, but there is a lack of empirical evidence.