Matching Items (2)
Description
The main objective of this study was to use a genetically-informative design to examine the putative influences of maternal perceived prenatal stress, obstetrical complications, and gestational age on infant dysregulation, competence, and developmental maturity. Specifically, whether or not prenatal and obstetrical environmental conditions modified the heritability of infant outcomes was examined. A total of 291 mothers were interviewed when their twin infants were 12 months of age. Pregnancy and twin birth medical records were obtained to code obstetrical data. Utilizing behavioral genetic models, results indicated maternal perceived prenatal stress moderated genetic and environmental influences on developmental maturity whereas obstetrical complications moderated shared environmental influences on infant competence and nonshared environmental influences on developmental maturity. Gestational age moderated the heritability and nonshared environment of infant dysregulation, shared and nonshared environmental influences on competence, and nonshared environmental influences on developmental maturity. Taken together, prenatal and obstetric conditions were important nonlinear influences on infant outcomes. An evolutionary perspective may provide a framework for these findings, such that the prenatal environment programs the fetus to be adaptive to current environmental contexts. Specifically, prenatal stress governs gene expression through epigenetic processes. Findings highlight the utility of a genetically informative design for elucidating the role of prenatal and obstetric conditions in the etiology of infant developmental outcomes.
ContributorsMcDonald, Kristy (Author) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn S (Thesis advisor) / Fabricius, William (Committee member) / Luecken, Linda (Committee member) / Spinrad, Tracy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Background: Premature infants may be at risk for lower effortful control, and subsequent lower academic achievement, peer competence, and emotional and physical wellness throughout the lifespan. However, because prematurity is related to obstetrical and neonatal complications, it is unclear what may drive the effect. Effortful control also has a strong heritable component; therefore, environmental factors during pregnancy and the neonatal period may interact with genetic factors to predict effortful control development. In this study, I aimed to dissect the influences of genetics, prematurity, and neonatal and obstetrical complications on the development of effortful control from 12 months to 10 years using a twin cohort. Methods: This study used data from the Arizona Twin Project, an ongoing longitudinal study of approximately 350 pairs of twins. Twins were primarily Hispanic/Latinx (23.8%-27.1%) and non-Hispanic/Latinx White (53.2%-57.8%), and families ranged in socioeconomic status with around one-third falling below or near the poverty line. Of the twins, 62.6% were born prematurely. Effortful control was assessed via parent report at six waves. Results: There was not a significant relationship between gestational age and effortful control regardless of whether obstetrical and neonatal complications were controlled for. Biometric twin modeling revealed that the attentional focusing subdomain of effortful control was highly heritable. Gestational age did not moderate genetic and environmental estimates. Conclusions: The findings help inform the risk assessment of prematurity and provide evidence for differing etiology of each subdomain of effortful control and the strong role of genetics in effortful control development.
ContributorsPickett, Janna (Author) / Lemery-Chalfant, Kathryn (Thesis advisor) / Su, Jinni (Committee member) / Eggum, Natalie D (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023