Pregnancy Anxiety in Expectant Mothers Predicts Offspring Negative Affect: The Moderating Role of Acculturation

Publication Date

2-2020

Document Type

Article

Organizational Units

College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Psychology

Keywords

Pregnancy anxiety, Prenatal anxiety, Latina mothers, Child negative affect, Ethnicity, Acculturation

Abstract

Background

Pregnancy anxiety predicts adverse developmental outcomes in offspring from infancy through late childhood, but studies have not examined associations with outcomes in early childhood, nor clarified ethnic or cultural variations in these processes.

Aims

(1) To examine differences in pregnancy anxiety and related concerns between non-Hispanic White women, Latina women who prefer to speak in English, and Latinas who prefer Spanish; (2) To test prospective associations between pregnancy anxiety and child negative affect and moderation by ethnicity and language preference, used as a proxy for acculturation.

Study design and methods

This longitudinal study included 95 women (40 Non-Hispanic Whites, 31 Spanish-preference Latinas, and 24 English-preference Latinas). Language preference was provided at study entry. Pregnancy anxiety was assessed in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy with two standardized measures. Mothers reported child negative affect at age 4.

Results

Spanish-preference Latinas had significantly more pregnancy-related anxiety about their health and safety in childbirth and concerning the medical system compared to English-preference Latinas and non-Hispanic White women. Adjusting for covariates, pregnancy anxiety in the second trimester, though not the third trimester, predicted significantly higher child negative affect in the full sample. A significant moderation effect indicated that the association was strongest among the lower acculturated Latinas, i.e., those who preferred Spanish.

Conclusion

These results document higher risk for offspring associated with pregnancy anxiety in the second trimester especially among less acculturated Latina women, and suggest the need for culturally-sensitive screening tools and interventions to improve outcomes for Latina mothers and their children.

Copyright Date

2-2020

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by Elsevier. User is responsible for all copyright compliance. This article was originally published as:

Mahrer, N. E., Ramos, I. F., Guardino, C., Poggi Davis, E., Ramey, S. L., Shalowitz, M., & Dunkel Schetter, C. (2020). Pregnancy anxiety in expectant mothers predicts offspring negative affect: The moderating role of acculturation. Early Human Development, 141, 104932. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2019.104932

Accepted Manuscript is openly available through the "Link to Full Text" button.

The published Version of Record is available at libraries through Compass or Worldcat.

Rights Holder

Elsevier

Provenance

Received from CHORUS

Language

English (eng)

Publication Title

Early Human Development

Volume

141

First Page

1

Last Page

7

ISSN

1872-6232

PubMed ID

31775096

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