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Intergenerational transmission of anxiety: linking parental anxiety to infant autonomic hyperarousal and fearful temperament.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Autonomic hyperarousal has been proposed as a dispositional risk factor for anxiety disorders (ADs). Therefore, we studied physiological arousal in offspring of fathers and mothers with and without ADs and whether infant hyperarousal predicts subsequent fearful temperament. METHODS:Infants (N = 128; age = 4 months) did a novel stimuli task (exposure to visual, olfactory, and acoustic stimuli and an unfamiliar male) and a habituation task (exposure to a repeated acoustic stimulus). Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) were measured during baseline, stimuli and post-stimuli rest. Parents' AD status and severity were measured using a diagnostic interview and their fearful temperament using a questionnaire. Child fearful temperament was measured at 4 months, 1 year and 2.5 years with observations during structured tasks. RESULTS:Parents' fearful temperament (significant in the habituation task), AD status (significant in the novel stimuli task) and AD severity (significant in both tasks) predicted a higher HR in their infants. Infants' higher HR reactivity to novel stimuli and diminished HR recovery at 4 months predicted a more fearful temperament during infancy and toddlerhood. Infants' higher HR at 4 months predicted a more fearful temperament at 2.5 years. CONCLUSIONS:Parental prenatal anxiety (disorders) predicted infants' autonomic arousal, which in turn predicted later fearful temperament in children. Outcomes suggest that autonomic hyperarousal is a dispositional risk factor of ADs.

SUBMITTER: de Vente W

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7687129 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Intergenerational transmission of anxiety: linking parental anxiety to infant autonomic hyperarousal and fearful temperament.

de Vente Wieke W Majdandžić Mirjana M Bögels Susan M SM

Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines 20200128 11

<h4>Background</h4>Autonomic hyperarousal has been proposed as a dispositional risk factor for anxiety disorders (ADs). Therefore, we studied physiological arousal in offspring of fathers and mothers with and without ADs and whether infant hyperarousal predicts subsequent fearful temperament.<h4>Methods</h4>Infants (N = 128; age = 4 months) did a novel stimuli task (exposure to visual, olfactory, and acoustic stimuli and an unfamiliar male) and a habituation task (exposure to a repeated acoustic ...[more]

PMID: 31994221

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Project description:ObjectiveTo examine the impact of polymorphic variation in the solute carrier family 5 member 7 (SLC5A7) gene on autonomic nervous system (ANS) reactivity indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and heart rate (HR) in infants during a dyadic stressor, as well as maternal report of infant self-regulation. Given evidence of race differences in older individuals, race was specifically examined.MethodsRSA and HR were collected from 111 infants during the still-face paradigm (SFP). Mothers completed the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised short-form. Multi-level mixed effects models examined the impact of SLC5A7 genotype on RSA and HR across the SFP. Linear models tested the influence of genotype on the relation between RSA, HR, and maternal report of infant self-regulation.ResultsSLC5A7 genotype significantly predicted RSA stress responsivity (β = -0.023; p = 0.028) and HR stress responsivity (β = 0.004; p = 0.002). T-allele carriers exhibited RSA suppression and HR acceleration in response to stress while G/G homozygotes did not suppress RSA and exhibited less HR acceleration. All infants exhibited modest RSA augmentation and HR deceleration during recovery. Race-stratified analyses revealed that White T-allele carriers drove the overall results for both RSA (β = -0.044; p = 0.007) and HR (β = 0.006; p = 0.008) with no relation between SLC5A7 genotype and RSA or HR in Black infants. Maternal report of infant orienting/regulation was predicted by the interaction of SLC5A7 genotype and both RSA recovery (β = 0.359; p = 0.001) and HR recovery (β = -1.659; p = 0.020). RSA augmentation and HR deceleration during recovery were associated with higher maternal reports of self-regulation among T-allele carriers, a finding again primarily driven by White infants.ConclusionsEarly in development, genetic contributions to ANS are evident and predict maternal report of infant self-regulation within White infants, consistent with prior literature. The lack of associations in Black infants suggest that race differences in physiological reactivity and self-regulation are emerging during the first year of life potentially providing early evidence of disparities in health risk trajectories.

Dataset Information

Intergenerational transmission of anxiety: linking parental anxiety to infant autonomic hyperarousal and fearful temperament.

Publications

Intergenerational transmission of anxiety: linking parental anxiety to infant autonomic hyperarousal and fearful temperament.

Similar Datasets

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