Prenatal Hair Cortisol Concentrations during the COVID-19 Outbreak: Associations with Psychological Stress and Infant Temperament
Keywords
Loading...
Authors
Issue Date
2021-07-01
Language
nl
Document type
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Title
ISSN
Volume
Issue
Startpage
Endpage
DOI
Abstract
Prenatal psychological stress, including stress resulting from disasters and trauma, has been
linked to a more difficult temperament in offspring. While increases in cortisol concentrations
are often hypothesized as underlying mechanism, previous research finds little evidence to
support this mechanism. However, cortisol in hair, reflecting more chronic cortisol exposure,
might reveal an association with psychological stress and infant temperament. Therefore, we
aimed to evaluate: 1) the association between COVID-19 psychological stress (work-, social-,
and general COVID-19-related worries) and pregnancy hair cortisol, and 2) the association
between prenatal hair cortisol during the COVID-19 outbreak and later infant temperament
(i.e., negative affectivity and orienting/regulation). Pregnant women (N = 100) filled in
questionnaires and provided hair samples. Regression analyses showed no association
between prenatal hair cortisol and COVID-19 psychological stress. However, SES proved to
be a moderator, with women with a high SES showing a positive association between work related and social-related worries and hair cortisol during the COVID-19 outbreak. Prenatal
hair cortisol was not related to infant negative affectivity. These results suggest that, while the
COVID-19 crisis impacted the majority of society, the physiological impact of the crisis
might be different for pregnant women differing in SES. Further research is needed to shed
light on the indirect effects of COVID-19 on infant’s development.
Keywords: prenatal stress, hair cortisol, infant temperament, COVID-19, HPA axis
Description
Citation
Faculty
Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen