Parent-child interactions in early life mediating association between prenatal maternal stress and autistic-like behaviors among preschoolers

ABSTRACT

A range of studies have shown that prenatal maternal stress (PNMS) exposure is associated with offspring autistic-like behaviors, however the potential pathways remain unexplored. This study aimed to evaluate the mediating role of parent-child interactions in early life in the association between PNMS exposure and preschoolers’ autistic-like behaviors. Data from 65,928 child-parent dyads were obtained via a primary caregiver-reported questionnaire administered as part of the Longhua Child Cohort Study. To strengthen confidence in the reliability of the results, the analyses were initially conducted on a random selection of 70% of the total sample, and then validated on the remaining 30% of the sample. Analysis of covariance and multiple linear models were employed to estimate the associations between PNMS exposure, parent-child interactions in early life, and children’s autistic-like behaviors. The results showed that PNMS exposure was positively associated with the presence of autistic-like behaviors at preschool age. The total indirect effect of the frequency of positive parent-child interactions in early life accounted for 9.69% or 8.99% of the variance of the association. Our findings indicate that parent-child interactions in early life might function as potential mediators of the association between PNMS and the increased risk of offspring autistic-like behaviors.

KEYWORDS:

• Prenatal maternal stress
• autistic-like behaviors
• parent-child interaction
• preschoolers
• mediation

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to show their gratitude to the families who participated in the study, the doctors from Longhua Maternal and Child Healthcare Center, teachers from kindergartens where the study was conducted, and students from School of Public Health at Sun Yat-sen University who took part in the investigation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Longhua Child Cohort Study (LCCS) was funded by the Government of Longhua New District of Shenzhen, China, under Grant number Government of Longhua District of Shenzhen, China 2013142;Guangzhou Science and Technology Project, China [201804020049];Guangdong Science and Technology Program Project, China [2017B020227006];