Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-jr42d Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T23:52:41.446Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The role of prenatal maternal stress in the development of childhood anxiety symptomatology: The QF2011 Queensland Flood Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 August 2018

Mia A. McLean ,
Vanessa E. Cobham ,
Gabrielle Simcock ,
Guillaume Elgbeili ,
Sue Kildea  and
Suzanne King
Mia A. McLean
Affiliation:
Mater Research Institute University of Queensland
Vanessa E. Cobham
Affiliation:
Mater Research Institute University of Queensland
Gabrielle Simcock
Affiliation:
Mater Research Institute University of Queensland
Guillaume Elgbeili
Affiliation:
Douglas Mental Health University Institute
Sue Kildea
Affiliation:
Mater Research Institute University of Queensland
Suzanne King*
Affiliation:
Douglas Mental Health University Institute McGill University
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Suzanne King, Professor of Psychiatry, McGill University, Principal Investigator, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Verdun, Quebec, H4H 1R3, Canada; E-mail: Suzanne.king@mcgill.ca.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

It is possible that findings suggesting a link between prenatal maternal stress (PNMS) and anxiety symptoms in offspring are confounded by postnatal and/or shared mother–child heritability effects. Following exposure to a natural disaster, the Queensland Flood Study investigated the unique and additive effects of various types of disaster-related PNMS (objective hardship, cognitive appraisal, and subjective distress) on childhood anxiety symptomatology (internalizing and/or anxiety symptom measures). Timing of flood exposure during pregnancy and child sex were examined as potential moderators. After controlling for maternal psychosocial factors, greater objective hardship as a result of the floods was significantly associated with greater anxiety symptoms (N = 114) and marginally associated with greater internalizing behaviors (N = 115). Earlier timing of the flood in pregnancy was associated with greater anxiety symptoms. No such associations were found between any PNMS measure and teacher-rated child internalizing behaviors (N = 90). Sex and timing did not moderate associations. Our findings suggest that, in isolation, increased maternal hardship due to exposure to an independent stressor, during pregnancy, may have a programming effect on childhood anxiety symptoms.

Type
Special Issue Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 30 , Special Issue 3: Developmental Origins of Psychopathology: Mechanisms, Processes, and Pathways Linking the Prenatal Environment to Postnatal Outcomes , August 2018 , pp. 995 - 1007
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Many thanks to the QF2011 families for their participation in this study, and members of the QF2011 team, notably, Helen Stapleton, Laura Shoo, Donna Amaraddio, Ash-lee Heather, and Stacey Lynch.

References

Achenbach, T., McConaughy, S., Howell, C., & Masters, J. C. (1987). Child/adolescent behavioral and emotional problems: Implications of cross-informant correlations for situational specificity. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 213–232. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.101.2.213Google Scholar
Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. (2001). Manual for the ASEBA school-age forms & profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, & Families.Google Scholar
Almond, S., & Healey, A. (2003). Mental health and absence from work: New evidence from the UK quarterly labour force survey. Work, Employment & Society, 17, 731–742. doi:10.1177/0950017003174007Google Scholar
Apter-Levi, Y., Pratt, M., Vakart, A., Feldman, M., Zagoory-Sharon, O., & Feldman, R. (2016). Maternal depression across the first years of life compromises child psychosocial adjustment; relations to child HPA-axis functioning. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 64, 47–56. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2015.11.006Google Scholar
Barker, E., Jaffee, S., Uher, R., & Maughan, B. (2011). The contribution of prenatal and postnatal maternal anxiety and depression to child maladjustment. Depression and Anxiety, 28, 696–702. doi:10.1002/da.20856Google Scholar
Beesdo, K., Knappe, S., & Pine, D. S. (2009). Anxiety and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents: Developmental issues and implications for DSM-V. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 32, 483–524. doi:10.1016/j.psc.2009.06.002Google Scholar
Bergman, K., Sarkar, P., O'Connor, T. G., Modi, N., & Glover, V. (2007). Maternal stress during pregnancy predicts cognitive ability and fearfulness in infancy. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 46, 1454–1463. doi:10.1097/chi.0b013e31814a62f6Google Scholar
Brock, R., O'Hara, M., Hart, K., McCabe, J., Williamson, J., Laplante, D., … Kaslow, N. J. (2014). Partner support and maternal depression in the context of the Iowa floods. Journal of Family Psychology, 28, 832–843. doi:10.1037/fam0000027.Google Scholar
Bromet, E., Havenaar, J. M., & Guey, L. T. (2011). A 25 year retrospective review of the psychological consequences of the Chernobyl accident. Clinical Oncology, 23, 297–305. doi:10.1016/j.clon.2011.01.501.Google Scholar
Brown, A. S., Susser, E. S., Lin, S. P., Neugebauer, R., & Gorman, J. M. (1995). Increased risk of affective disorders in males after second trimester prenatal exposure to the Dutch hunger winter of 1944-45. British Journal of Psychiatry: Journal of Mental Science, 166, 601.Google Scholar
Brown, A. S., van Os, J., Driessens, C., Hoek, H. W., & Susser, E. S. (2000). Further evidence of relation between prenatal famine and major affective disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 157, 190. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.157.2.190.Google Scholar
Brunet, A., Weiss, D. S., Metzler, T. J., Best, S. R., Neylan, T. C., Rogers, C. R., … Marmar, C. R. (2001). The Peritraumatic Distress Inventory: A proposed measure of PTSD criterion A2. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 1480–1485. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.158.9.1480.Google Scholar
Cagnacci, A., Pansini, F. S., Bacchi-Modena, A., Volpe, A., & Emilia-Romagna Operative Group for Menopause. (2006). The relation of season of birth to severity of menopausal symptoms. Menopause, 13, 700–705. doi:10.1097/01.gme.0000196594.82452.83.Google Scholar
Cao, X., Laplante, D. P., Brunet, A., Ciampi, A., & King, S. (2014). Prenatal maternal stress affects motor function in 5(1/2)-year-old children: Project Ice Storm. Developmental Psychobiology, 56, 117–125. doi:10.1002/dev.21085.Google Scholar
Cao-Lei, L., Dancause, K. N., Elgbeili, G., Massart, R., Szyf, M., Liu, A., … King, S. (2015). DNA methylation mediates the impact of exposure to prenatal maternal stress on BMI and central adiposity in children at age 13½ years: Project Ice Storm. Epigenetics, 10, 749–761. doi:10.1080/15592294.2015.1063771.Google Scholar
Cao-Lei, L., Veru, F., Elgbeili, G., Szyf, M., Laplante, D. P., & King, S. (2016). DNA methylation mediates the effect of exposure to prenatal maternal stress on cytokine production in children at age 13½ years: Project Ice Storm. Clinical Epigenetics, 8, 54. doi:10.1186/s13148-016-0219-0.Google Scholar
Capron, L. E., Glover, V., Pearson, R. M., Evans, J., O'Connor, T. G., Stein, A., … Ramchandani, P. G. (2015). Associations of maternal and paternal antenatal mood with offspring anxiety disorder at age 18 years. Journal of Affective Disorders, 187, 20–26. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2015.08.012.Google Scholar
Charil, A., Laplante, D. P., Vaillancourt, C., & King, S. (2010). Prenatal stress and brain development. Brain Research Reviews, 65, 56–79. doi:10.1016/j.brainresrev.2010.06.002.Google Scholar
Conrod, P. J., & Stewart, S. H. (2008). Anxiety and substance use disorders: The vicious cycle of comorbidity. New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Cox, J. L., Holden, J. M., & Sagovsky, R. (1987). Detection of postnatal depression: Development of the 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. British Journal of Psychiatry: Journal of Mental Science, 150, 782.Google Scholar
Creamer, M., Bell, R., & Failla, S. (2003). Psychometric properties of the Impact of Event Scale—Revised. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 41, 1489–1496. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2003.07.010.Google Scholar
Dancause, K. N., Laplante, D. P., Fraser, S., Brunet, A., Ciampi, A., Schmitz, N., & King, S. (2012). Prenatal exposure to a natural disaster increases risk for obesity in 5(1/2)-year-old children. Pediatric Research, 71, 126–131. doi:10.1038/pr.2011.18.Google Scholar
Dancause, K. N., Mutran, D., Elgbeili, G., Laplante, D. P., Kildea, S., Stapleton, H., … King, S. (2016). Dietary change mediates relationships between stress during pregnancy and infant head circumference measures: The QF2011 study. Maternal and Child Nutrition, 13, e12359. doi:10.1111/mcn.12359.Google Scholar
Dancause, K. N., Veru, F., Andersen, R. E., Laplante, D. P., & King, S. (2013). Prenatal stress due to a natural disaster predicts insulin secretion in adolescence. Early Human Development, 89, 773–776. doi:10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2013.06.006.Google Scholar
Davis, E. P., Glynn, L. M., Waffarn, F., & Sandman, C. A. (2011). Prenatal maternal stress programs infant stress regulation. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 52, 119–129. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02314.x.Google Scholar
Davis, E. P., & Sandman, C. A. (2012). Prenatal psychobiological predictors of anxiety risk in preadolescent children. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 37, 1224–1233. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2011.12.016.Google Scholar
de Bruijn, A. T. C. E., van Bakel, H. J. A., & van Baar, A. L. (2009). Sex differences in the relation between prenatal maternal emotional complaints and child outcome. Early Human Development, 85, 319–324. doi:10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2008.12.009.Google Scholar
Dipietro, J. A. (2012). Maternal stress in pregnancy: Considerations for fetal development. Journal of Adolescent Health, 51(2 Suppl.), S3–S8. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.04.008.Google Scholar
Edwards, S. L., Rapee, R. M., Kennedy, S. J., & Spence, S. H. (2010). The assessment of anxiety symptoms in preschool-aged children: The revised Preschool Anxiety Scale. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 39, 400–409. doi:10.1080/15374411003691701.Google Scholar
Faravelli, C., Lo Sauro, C., Godini, L., Lelli, L., Benni, L., Pietrini, F., … Ricca, V. (2012). Childhood stressful events, HPA axis and anxiety disorders. World Journal of Psychiatry, 2, 13. doi:10.5498/wjp.v2.i1.13.Google Scholar
Ferdinand, R. F., Huizink, A. C., Ormel, J., Verhulst, F. C., van der Toorn, S. L. M., & Utens, E. M. W. J. (2010). Maternal depressive symptoms, and not anxiety symptoms, are associated with positive mother-child reporting discrepancies of internalizing problems in children: A report on the TRAILS Study. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 19, 379–388. doi:10.1007/s00787-009-0062-3.Google Scholar
Field, A. P. (2013). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics: And sex and drugs and rock ‘n’ roll / Andy Field (4th ed.). Los Angeles: Sage.Google Scholar
Gartstein, M., Putnam, S., & Rothbart, M. (2012). Etiology of preschool behavior problems: Contributions of temperament attributes in early childhood. Infant Mental Health Journal, 33, 197–211.Google Scholar
Gerardin, P., Wendland, J., Bodeau, N., Galin, A., Bialobos, S., Tordjman, S., … Cohen, D. (2011). Depression during pregnancy: Is the developmental impact earlier in boys? A prospective case-control study. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 72, 378–387. doi:10.4088/JCP.09m05724blu.Google Scholar
Glover, V. (2014). Maternal depression, anxiety and stress during pregnancy and child outcome; what needs to be done. Best Practice & Research: Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 28, 25–35. doi:10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2013.08.017.Google Scholar
Glover, V., & Hill, J. (2012). Sex differences in the programming effects of prenatal stress on psychopathology and stress responses: An evolutionary perspective. Physiology & Behavior, 106, 736–740. doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2012.02.011.Google Scholar
Glover, V., O'Connor, T. G., & O'Donnell, K. (2010). Prenatal stress and the programming of the HPA axis. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 35, 17–22. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2009.11.008.Google Scholar
Gluckman, P. D., & Hanson, M. (Eds.). (2006). Developmental origins of health and disease. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Gortmaker, S. L., Kagan, J., Caspi, A., & Silva, P. A. (1997). Daylength during pregnancy and shyness in children: Results from Northern and Southern hemispheres. Developmental Psychobiology, 31, 107–114. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1098-2302(199709)31:2<107::AID-DEV3>3.0.CO;2-O.3.0.CO;2-O.>Google Scholar
Greer, F. W. (2005). The association of season of birth with child internalizing problems (Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Georgia).Google Scholar
Grimm, A., Hulse, L., Preiss, M., & Schmidt, S. (2012). Post- and peritraumatic stress in disaster survivors: An explorative study about the influence of individual and event characteristics across different types of disasters. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 3, 1–9. doi:10.3402/ejpt.v3i0.7382.Google Scholar
Guardia, D., Brunet, A., Duhamel, A., Ducrocq, F., Demarty, A.-L., & Vaiva, G. (2013). Prediction of trauma-related disorders: A proposed cutoff score for the peritraumatic distress inventory. Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders, 15, 12I01406. doi:10.4088/PCC.12l01406.Google Scholar
Havenaar, J. M., Bromet, E. J., & Cwikel, J. G. (2002). Toxic turmoil psychological and societal consequences of ecological disasters. Boston: Springer.Google Scholar
Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Hilmert, C. J., Kvasnicka-Gates, L., Teoh, A. N., Bresin, K., & Fiebiger, S. (2016). Major flood related strains and pregnancy outcomes. Health Psychology, 35, 1189–1196. doi:10.1037/hea0000386.Google Scholar
Huizink, A. C., De Medina, P. G. R., Mulder, E. J., Visser, G. H., & Buitelaar, J. K. (2002). Psychological measures of prenatal stress as predictors of infant temperament. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 41, 1078–1085. doi:10.1087/01.CHI.00000 20276.43550.4BGoogle Scholar
Huizink, A. C., Dick, D. M., Sihvola, E., Pulkkinen, L., Rose, R. J., & Kaprio, J. (2007). Chernobyl exposure as stressor during pregnancy and behaviour in adolescent offspring. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 116, 438–446. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0447.2007.01050.x.Google Scholar
Huizink, A. C., Mulder, E. J., & Buitelaar, J. K. (2004). Prenatal stress and risk for psychopathology: Specific effects or induction of general susceptibility? Psychological Bulletin, 130, 115–142. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.130.1.115.Google Scholar
Jacka, F. N., Ystrom, E., Brantsaeter, A. L., Karevold, E., Roth, C., Haugen, M., … Berk, M. (2013). Maternal and early postnatal nutrition and mental health of offspring by age 5 years: A prospective cohort study. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 52, 1038–1047. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2013.07.002.Google Scholar
Janssens, A., & Deboutte, D. (2009). Screening for psychopathology in child welfare: The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) compared with the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA). European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 18, 691–700. doi:10.1007/s00787-009-0030-y.Google Scholar
King, S., Dancause, K., Turcotte-Tremblay, A.-M., Veru, F., & Laplante, D. P. (2012). Using natural disasters to study the effects of prenatal maternal stress on child health and development. Birth Defects Research Part C–Embryo Today: Reviews, 96, 273–288. doi:10.1002/bdrc.21026.Google Scholar
King, S., Kildea, S., Austin, M. P., Brunet, A., Cobham, V. E., Dawson, P. A., … Ping, E. Y. (2015). QF2011: A protocol to study the effects of the Queensland flood on pregnant women, their pregnancies, and their children's early development. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 15, 109.2–109.47. doi:10.1186/s12884-015-0539-7.Google Scholar
Kingsbury, M., Weeks, M., Mackinnon, N., Evans, J., Mahedy, L., Dykxhoorn, J., & Colman, I. (2016). Stressful life events during pregnancy and offspring depression: Evidence from a prospective cohort study. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 55, 709–716. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2016.05.014.Google Scholar
Laplante, D. P., Barr, R. G., Brunet, A., Galbaud du Fort, G., Meaney, M. L., Saucier, J. F., … King, S. (2004). Stress during pregnancy affects general intellectual and language functioning in human toddlers. Pediatric Research, 56, 400–410. doi:10.1203/01.PDR.0000136281.34035.44.Google Scholar
Laplante, D. P., Brunet, A., & King, S. (2016). The effects of maternal stress and illness during pregnancy on infant temperament: Project Ice Storm. Pediatric Research, 79, 107–113. doi:10.1038/pr.2015.177.Google Scholar
Laplante, D. P., Brunet, A., Schmitz, N., Ciampi, A., & King, S. (2008). Project Ice Storm: Prenatal maternal stress affects cognitive and linguistic functioning in 5 1/2-year-old children. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 47, 1063–1072. doi:10.1097/CHI.0b013e31817eec80.Google Scholar
Leis, J. A., Heron, J., Stuart, E. A., & Mendelson, T. (2014). Associations between maternal mental health and child emotional and behavioral problems: Does prenatal mental health matter? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 42, 161–171. doi:10.1007/s10802-013-9766-4.Google Scholar
Lewis, S. J., Relton, C., Zammit, S., & Smith, G. D. (2013). Approaches for strengthening causal inference regarding prenatal risk factors for childhood behavioural and psychiatric disorders. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54, 1095–1108. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12127.Google Scholar
Liu, G. T., Dancause, K. N., Elgbeili, G., Laplante, D. P., & King, S. (2016). Disaster-related prenatal maternal stress explains increasing amounts of variance in body composition through childhood and adolescence: Project Ice Storm. Environmental Research, 150, 1–7. doi:10.1016/j.envres.2016.04.039.Google Scholar
Lovibond, S. H., & Lovibond, P. F. (1995). The structure of negative emotional states: Comparison of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) with the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33, 335–343. doi:10.1016/0005-7967(94)00075-U.Google Scholar
Lowry-Webster, H., Barrett, P., & Lock, S. (2003). A universal prevention trial of anxiety symptomology during childhood: Results at 1-year follow-up. Behaviour Change, 20, 25–43. doi:10.1375/bech.20.1.25.24843.Google Scholar
Lupien, S. J., McEwen, B. S., Gunnar, M. R., & Heim, C. (2009). Effects of stress throughout the lifespan on the brain, behaviour and cognition. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10, 434–445. doi:10.1038/nrn2639.Google Scholar
Marmar, C. R., Weiss, D. D., & Metzler, T. J. (1997). The Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire. In Wilson, J. P. & Keane, T. M. (Eds.), Assessing psychological trauma and PTSD (pp. 412–428). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Merikangas, K. R., He, J.-P., Burstein, M., Swanson, S. A., Avenevoli, S., Cui, L., … Swendsen, J. (2010). Lifetime prevalence of mental disorders in U.S. adolescents: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication—Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A). Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 49, 980–989. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2010.05.017.Google Scholar
Mian, N. D., Carter, A. S., Pine, D. S., Wakschlag, L. S., & Briggs-Gowan, M. J. (2015). Development of a novel observational measure for anxiety in young children: The Anxiety Dimensional Observation Scale. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 56, 1017–1025. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12407.Google Scholar
Middeldorp, C. M., Wesseldijk, L. W., Hudziak, J. J., Verhulst, F. C., Lindauer, R. J. L., & Dieleman, G. C. (2016). Parents of children with psychopathology: Psychiatric problems and the association with their child's problems. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 25, 919. doi:10.1007/s00787-015-0813-2.Google Scholar
Monk, C., Georgieff, M. K., & Osterholm, E. A. (2013). Research Review: Maternal prenatal distress and poor nutrition—Mutually influencing risk factors affecting infant neurocognitive development. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54, 115–130. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12000.Google Scholar
Moss, K., Simcock, G., Cobham, V., Kildea, S., Elgbeili, G., Laplante, D., … Dubow, E. F. (2017). A potential psychological mechanism linking disaster-related prenatal maternal stress with child cognitive and motor development at 16 months: The QF2011 Queensland Flood Study. Developmental Psychology, 53, 629–641. doi:10.1037/dev0000272.Google Scholar
Muris, P., & Ollendick, T. (2005). The role of temperament in the etiology of child psychopathology. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 8, 271–289. doi:10.1007/s10567-005-8809-y.Google Scholar
Najman, J. M., Williams, G. M., Nikles, J., Spence, S., Bor, W., O'Callaghan, M., … Shuttlewood, G. J. (2001). Bias influencing maternal reports of child behaviour and emotional state. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 36, 186–194. doi:10.1007/s001270170062.Google Scholar
Nauta, M. H., Scholing, A., Rapee, R. M., Abbott, M., Spence, S. H., & Waters, A. (2004). A parent-report measure of children's anxiety: Psychometric properties and comparison with child-report in a clinic and normal sample. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 42, 813–839. doi:10.1016/s0005-7967(03)00200-6.Google Scholar
Nelemans, S. A., Hale, W. W. III, Branje, S. J., Hawk, S. T., & Meeus, W. H. (2014). Maternal criticism and adolescent depressive and generalized anxiety disorder symptoms: A 6-year longitudinal community study. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 42, 755–766. doi:10.1007/s10802-013-9817-x.Google Scholar
Neria, Y., Nandi, A., & Galea, S. (2008). Post-traumatic stress disorder following disasters: A systematic review. Psychological Medicine, 38, 467–480. doi:10.1017/S0033291707001353.Google Scholar
O'Connor, T. G., Heron, J., Golding, J., Beveridge, M., & Glover, V. (2002). Maternal antenatal anxiety and children's behavioural/emotional problems at 4 years—Report from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. British Journal of Psychiatry, 180, 502–508. doi:10.1192/bjp.180.6.502.Google Scholar
O'Connor, T. G., Heron, J., Golding, J., & Glover, V. (2003). Maternal antenatal anxiety and behavioural/emotional problems in children: A test of a programming hypothesis. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 44, 1025–1036. doi:10.1111/1469-7610.00187.Google Scholar
O'Donnell, K. J., Glover, V., Barker, E. D., & O'Connor, T. G. (2014). The persisting effect of maternal mood in pregnancy on childhood psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 26, 393–403. doi:10.1017/S0954579414000029.Google Scholar
Ollendick, T. H., & Grills, A. E. (2016). Perceived control, family environment, and the etiology of child anxiety—Revisited. Behavior Therapy, 47, 633. doi:10.1016/j.beth.2016.01.007.Google Scholar
Park, S., Kim, B. N., Kim, J. W., Shin, M. S., Yoo, H. J., Lee, J., & Cho, S. C. (2014). Associations between maternal stress during pregnancy and offspring internalizing and externalizing problems in childhood. International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 8, 44. doi:10.1186/1752-4458-8-44.Google Scholar
Parker, G., & Neilson, M. (1976). Mental disorder and season of birth—A southern hemisphere study. British Journal of Psychiatry: Journal of Mental Science, 129, 355–361.Google Scholar
Petty, C. R., Rosenbaum, J. F., Hirshfeld-Becker, D. R., Henin, A., Hubley, S., Lacasse, S., … Biederman, J. (2008). The Child Behavior Checklist broad-band scales predict subsequent psychopathology: A 5-year follow-up. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 22, 532–539. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2007.04.003.Google Scholar
Polizzi, N., Martin, R. P., & Dombrowski, S. C. (2007). Season of birth of students receiving special education services under a diagnosis of emotional and behavioral disorder. School Psychology Quarterly, 22, 44–57. doi:10.1037/1045-3830.22.1.44.Google Scholar
Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry. (2012). Final report Queensland floods commission of inquiry. Retrieved from http://www.floodcommission.qld.gov.au/publications/final-report/Google Scholar
Ramchandani, P. G., Richter, L. M., Norris, S. A., & Stein, A. (2010). Maternal prenatal stress and later child behavioral problems in an urban South African setting. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 49, 239–247. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2009.11.013.Google Scholar
Rescorla, L. A., Bochicchio, L., Achenbach, T. M., Ivanova, M. Y., Almqvist, F., Begovac, I., … Verhulst, F. C. (2014). Parent–teacher agreement on children's problems in 21 societies. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 43, 627–642. doi:10.1080/15374416.2014.900719.Google Scholar
Rice, F., Harold, G. T., Boivin, J., van den Bree, M., Hay, D. F., & Thapar, A. (2010). The links between prenatal stress and offspring development and psychopathology: Disentangling environmental and inherited influences. Psychological Medicine, 40, 335–345. doi:10.1017/S0033291709005911.Google Scholar
Sandman, C., & Davis, E. P. (2012). Neurobehavioral risk is associated with gestational exposure to stress hormones. Expert Review of Endocrinology & Metabolism, 7, 445–459. doi:10.1586/eem.12.33.Google Scholar
Sarason, I. G., Johnson, J. H., & Siegel, J. M. (1978). Assessing the impact of life changes: Development of the Life Experiences Survey. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 46, 932–946. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.46.5.932.Google Scholar
Schafer, J., Graham, J., & West, S. G. (2002). Missing data: Our view of the state of the art. Psychological Methods, 7, 147–177. doi:10.1037/1082-989X.7.2.147.Google Scholar
Simcock, G., Elgbeili, G., Laplante, D. P., Kildea, S., Cobham, V., Stapelton, H., … King, S. (2017). The effects of prenatal maternal stress on early temperament: The QF2011 Queensland Flood Study. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 38, 310–321. doi:10.1097/DBP.0000000000000444.Google Scholar
Simcock, G., Kildea, S., Elgbeili, G., Laplante, D. P., Stapleton, H., Cobham, V., & King, S. (2016). Age-related changes in the effects of stress in pregnancy on infant motor development by maternal report: The Queensland Flood Study. Developmental Psychobiology, 58, 640–659. doi:10.1002/dev.21407.Google Scholar
Simcock, G., Laplante, D. P., Elgbeili, G., Kildea, S., Cobham, V., Stapleton, H., & King, S. (2016). Infant neurodevelopment is affected by prenatal maternal stress: The QF2011 Queensland Flood Study. Infancy, 22, 282–302, doi:10.1111/infa.12166.Google Scholar
Spence, S. H., Rapee, R., McDonald, C., & Ingram, M. (2001). The structure of anxiety symptoms among preschoolers. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 39, 1293–1316. doi:10.1016/S0005-7967(00)00098-X.Google Scholar
Spielberger, C. D., Gorsuch, R. L., Lushene, R., Vagg, P. R., & Jacobs, G. A. (1983). Manual for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Form Y). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.Google Scholar
Szymanski, L. M., & Satin, A. J. (2012). Strenuous exercise during pregnancy: Is there a limit? American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 207, 179.e1–179.e176. doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2012.07.021.Google Scholar
van den Bergh, B. R. H., & Marcoen, A. (2004). High antenatal maternal anxiety is related to ADHD symptoms, externalizing problems, and anxiety in 8- and 9-year-olds. Child Development, 75, 1085–1097. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00727.x.Google Scholar
Wei, C., & Kendall, P. C. (2014). Parental involvement: Contribution to childhood anxiety and its treatment. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 17, 319–339. doi:10.1007/s10567-014-0170-6.Google Scholar
Weinstock, M. (2008). The long-term behavioural consequences of prenatal stress. Neuroscience Biobehavioral Reviews, 32, 1073–1086. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2008.03.002.Google Scholar
Weiss, D. S., & Marmar, C. R. (1997). The Impact of Events Scale—Revised. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Welberg, L. A. M., & Seckl, J. R. (2001). Prenatal stress, glucocorticoids and the programming of the brain. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 13, 113–128. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2826.2001.00601.x.Google Scholar
Woodward, L. J., & Fergusson, D. M. (2001). Life course outcomes of young people with anxiety disorders in adolescence. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 40, 1086–1093. doi:10.1097/00004583-200109000-00018.Google Scholar
Yong Ping, E., Laplante, D. P., Elgbeili, G., Hillerer, K. M., Brunet, A., O'Hara, M. W., & King, S. (2015). Prenatal maternal stress predicts stress reactivity at 2½ years of age: The Iowa Flood Study. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 56, 62–78. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2015.02.015.Google Scholar