RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PERINATAL MATERNAL CORTISOL, PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING, AND INFANT NEUROENDOCRINE STRESS AXIS ACTIVITY

Jennifer A. Madigan

doi:10.7273/000006484

The major question this body of research seeks to address was how perinatal maternal psychophysiological stress and military lifestyle experiences relate to infant hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity and temperament development. It is important to investigate these relationships because it could lead to a better understanding of later-life health effects as a result of detrimental conditions in a crucial developmental period. To address this question, an interdisciplinary approach was used spanning endocrinology, psychology and behavior, and sociology studies and utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methods for this research in a longitudinal manner with repeated measures. The research populations used in this research consisted of pregnant and postpartum women and their infants. Chapter two consisted of general population women recruited for in-person participation in the pacific northwest and only assessed maternal cortisol concentrations in relation to birth outcomes and internalizing symptoms. For chapter three and four this population was limited to spouses of active-duty military members (Chapter 3) and spouses and infants of active-duty Navy members (Chapter 4) but expanded to include the whole United States. Chapter 3 expanded on the research of chapter 2 by incorporating military lifestyle stressors as factors that influenced internalizing symptoms during the perinatal period. And chapter 4 incorporated methods from the studies from the two previous chapters and expanded the research to include analysis of impact on infant HPA axis and temperament development. Participant recruitment and psychological data collection was conducted online. Hair cortisol (HCC) was used as an integrated measure of cortisol concentration over a period of three months. Infant saliva was collected three times a day for two days to observe an averaged diurnal circadian cortisol response at two postpartum timepoints. Longitudinal data was analyzed using repeated measures MANOVA. Relationships between multiple factors and interactions were assessed using analysis of variance. Linear regression was used to identify simple relationships between variables and interactions. Key findings from this research include the identification of the relationship between unpredicted birth complications and maternal psychological distress as well as perinatal cortisol concentrations using HCC. The third chapter validated the military lifestyle questionnaire (MLQ) developed by the researcher and identified six potential factors relevant to military spouses and further associated those factors with depression and perceived stress scores during the perinatal period. The major finding from the fourth chapter was the identification of the link between perinatal maternal HCC and infant HPA axis activity and behavior. These findings support the need to monitor maternal psychological and biological stress throughout the perinatal period to ensure the healthy development of their children. This research also supports a growing body of research finding connections between maternal cortisol and infant HPA axis activity and behavior or temperament development. Additionally, this study expands on what is known about the stress factors specific to military populations and supports previous research identifying deployment stress as a major factor to maternal psychological distress. These findings indicate a need for future research into the associations between perinatal maternal cortisol and psychological distress. There is also further need to validate the MLQ scale with a larger sample. Lastly, further research should be conducted to investigate the associations between maternal cortisol concentrations and reports of infant behavior.

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PERINATAL MATERNAL CORTISOL, PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING, AND INFANT NEUROENDOCRINE STRESS AXIS ACTIVITY

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