A Prospective Study of Maternal Anxiety, Perceived Stress, and Depressive Symptoms in Relation to Infant Cognitive Development

Citation

Keim, Sarah A.; Daniels, Julie L.; Dole, Nancy; Herring, Amy H.; Siega-Riz, Anna Maria; & Scheidt, Peter C. (2011). A Prospective Study of Maternal Anxiety, Perceived Stress, and Depressive Symptoms in Relation to Infant Cognitive Development. Early Human Development, 87(5), 373-380.

Abstract

AIM: Our objective was to examine the associations between maternal psychological health (trait anxiety, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms) during pregnancy or postpartum and infant visual, language, motor, and overall cognitive development.
STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: In the prospective Pregnancy, Infection, and Nutrition Study (2001-2006), central North Carolina women completed self-administered questionnaires during pregnancy to assess trait anxiety and depressive symptoms. An in-person interview assessed maternal perceived stress and depressive symptoms in the 4th postpartum month. Infant development was assessed at 12months using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (n=358). Multiple linear regression with restricted cubic splines was used to examine potential non-linear associations between trait anxiety, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms in relation to Mullen sub-scales and Composite scores.
RESULTS: Increasing maternal anxiety was associated with poorer overall cognition (adjusted

URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2011.02.004

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year Published

2011

Journal Title

Early Human Development

Author(s)

Keim, Sarah A.
Daniels, Julie L.
Dole, Nancy
Herring, Amy H.
Siega-Riz, Anna Maria
Scheidt, Peter C.

ORCiD

Siega-Riz - 0000-0002-1303-4248
Dole - 0000-0002-2113-7984