1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The goals of the present study were to test whether varying aspects of the PNMS [prenatal maternal stress] experience affect AGV [bilateral amygdala volumes] in 11 1⁄2 year-old youth using a prospective longitudinal design, and whether AGV mediates the association between varying aspects of the PNMS experience and child internalizing and externalizing problems.» (p. 3)

Questions/Hypothèses :
The authors «hypothesized that the timing of the prenatal maternal stressor would moderate those associations.» (p. 3)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
L’échantillon initial du Projet verglas (Project Ice Storm) était composé de 178 enfants nés de femmes ayant été exposées à la crise du verglas de 1998 au Québec. Le présent sous échantillon est composé de 35 garçons et de 33 filles ayant été évalués par imagerie par résonnance magnétique.

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

The «present findings suggest that in boys, a mother’s distress from a natural disaster, when experienced in the second half of pregnancy, can influence the development of her child’s amygdala, which in turn mediates the association between subjective PNMS and externalizing behaviors when measured 111⁄2 years later. In girls, the objective hardship experienced from a natural disaster predicted larger right and left normalized AGV, which in turn was associated with more externalizing behavior. […] Findings from the present study provide support for the hypothesis that susceptibility to behavioral problems may, in part, be programmed in utero, and that this effect may be mediated through the development of the amygdala. Furthermore, the study shows that exposure to a stressor during gestation exerts a lasting influence on child development. These results add to the growing awareness of the importance of the intrauterine environment and reveal a new pathway through which the maternal exposure to a stressor during pregnancy may affect the offspring, in a sex-specific manner.» (p. 14)