Maternal anxiety is related to infant neurological condition, paternal anxiety is not

作者：Kikkert Hedwig K; Middelburg Karin J; Hadders Algra Mijna^*

来源：Early Human Development, 2010, 86(3): 171-177.

DOI：10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2010.02.004

• Well-being
• Anxiety
• Neurological development
• Infancy

Background: Parental anxiety and stress may have consequences for infant neurological development.
Aims: To study relationships between parental anxiety or well-being and infant neurological development approximately one year after birth.
Study design: Longitudinal study of a birth cohort of infants born to subfertile couples. Subjects: 206 parent-child dyads.
Outcome measures: Infant neurology was assessed with the Touwen Infant Neurological Examination (TINE) at 10 months and a developmental questionnaire at 12 months. Parental measures included trait anxiety measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and well-being measured by the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ).
Results: Maternal trait anxiety was associated with a less optimal neurological condition (r(s) = -0.19, p < 0.01) of the infant. This association persisted after adjusting for confounders and results were confirmed by the outcome of the developmental questionnaire. Paternal trait anxiety and parental well-being were not related to the infant's neurodevelopmental outcome.
Conclusions: Infants of mothers with high trait anxiety have an increased vulnerability to develop a non-optimal nervous system. The association may be mediated in part by early programming of monoaminergic systems. Future research should include an exploration of specific windows of vulnerability to maternal anxiety.

• 出版日期2010-3