1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«[T]he specific aim of this study was to determine the extent to which PNMS [prenatal maternal stress] and its timing explained variance in disordered eating in Project Ice Storm children.» (p. 512)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«Women who were pregnant in January 1998 and lived in the area most harshly affected by the ice storm were invited (5 months after the storm hit) via a mailed invitation to take part in the project. […] At a 131/2-year follow-up (the object of this report), 54 children who had been conceived prior to the ice storm hit participated.» (p. 513)

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«This prospective study assessed the impact of mothers’ experiences while pregnant of an environmental stressor on the later development of maladaptive eating behaviors in a cohort of children who had been exposed during the gestational process. Overall, our results suggest that mothers’ exposure to ice storm stress in the latter (third trimester) phase of pregnancy was associated with heightened EAT-26 [Eating Attitudes Test] total scores in affected offspring, over and above the component explained by sex (being female) and BMI [body mass index] (having a higher body mass). Furthermore, we obtained some evidence of interaction between stress and timing of exposure, suggesting that late pregnancy may be a “window of vulnerability” during which the more severe was a mothers’ objective hardship from the ice storm, the more likely was her child to eventually develop disordered eating. Indications that mothers’ stress exposures during late pregnancy may be especially detrimental to later signs of disordered eating in exposed children “echo” other findings, indicating that third trimester stress can have special impact on later emotional adjustment in children exposed to gestational stress in utero.» (p. 515)