1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«Maternal stress during pregnancy (MSDP) has been linked to a decrease in Intelligence Quotient (IQ) in the general population. The purpose of this study is to first examine the association between MSDP and IQ in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and second, to confirm, in a large sample, the link between MSDP and ADHD behavioral symptomatology.» (p. 92)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«Four hundred ten children aged 6-12 were recruited from the Disruptive Behavior Disorders day hospital and the children’s outpatient clinic at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute in Montreal, Canada from 1999 to 2013.» (p. 94)

Instruments :
Questionnaire
Guide d’entretien directif

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«In our analysis, we in fact did not observe a significant contribution of MSDP on IQ. In this regard, our findings differ from those of Laplante et al. (2008) and of Van den Bergh et al. (2005), who both reported a negative impact of maternal stress during pregnancy on IQ. However, whereas these two studies looked at the effect of maternal stress during pregnancy in the general population, we looked at its effect in a high risk clinical population of children with ADHD, which might explain the difference between the observed tendencies. […] However, most of these studies investigated different stressors (pregnancy-related anxieties or daily hassles) from what we observed in our sample. In our study, MSDP relates more to stressful events during pregnancy, such as being physically abused or losing a home in a fire. This, along with the fact that we tested this hypothesis in an ADHD population, may explain why our findings diverge. […] What affected IQ was not MSDP but familial education [and] income […]. The latter might be attributable to the fact that we initially had more cases from lower socioeconomic background.» (p. 97-98)