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Stress in pregnancy: Clinical and adaptive behavior of offspring following Superstorm Sandy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2021

Yoko Nomura Open the ORCID record for Yoko Nomura [Opens in a new window] ,
Wei Zhang Open the ORCID record for Wei Zhang [Opens in a new window]  and
Yasmin L. Hurd Open the ORCID record for Yasmin L. Hurd [Opens in a new window]
Yoko Nomura*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, CUNY Queens College, Flushing, NY, USA Department of Psychology, CUNY Graduate Center, New York, NY, USA Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Public Policy, New York, NY, USA
Wei Zhang
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, New Jersey City University, Jersey City, NJ, USA
Yasmin L. Hurd
Affiliation:
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Neuroscience and Addiction Institute of Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
*
Author for Correspondence: Yoko Nomura, CUNY Queens College, Department of Psychology, 65-30 Kissena Blvd, Flushing, NY11367, USA; E-mail: yoko.nomura@qc.cuny.edu
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Abstract

The current study investigated 304 children from a longitudinal project (the Stress in Pregnancy (SIP) Study) who were exposed and unexposed to Superstorm Sandy (“Sandy”) in utero. They were prospectively followed from 2 to 6 years of age and their clinical and adaptive behaviors were assessed annually. Using a hierarchical linear model, the study found that in utero Sandy exposure was associated with greater clinical (anxiety, depression, and somatization) and lower adaptive behaviors (social skills and functional communication) at age 2 years. However, the trajectories were notably different between the two groups. Anxiety increased more rapidly among the exposed than unexposed group at ages 2–4, and depression increased only among the exposed. In contrast, social skills and functional communication were lower in exposed compared to unexposed children at age 2, but quickly increased and exceeded the capacities of unexposed children by age 3. The findings confirm that prenatal Sandy exposure is not only associated with an increase in anxiety, depression, and somatization in offspring, but also with greater adaptive skills as the children got older. Our study demonstrates that while children who have experienced stress in utero demonstrate elevated suboptimal clinical behaviors related to affective disorders, they nevertheless have the potential to learn adaptive skills.

Keywords

clinical and adaptive behaviorsnatural disasterobjective stress exposureprenatal maternal stress
Type
Regular Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 34 , Issue 4 , October 2022 , pp. 1249 - 1259
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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