Economic Stress and Cortisol Among Postpartum Low-Income Mexican American Women: Buffering Influence of Family Support

Abstract

Low-income Mexican American women experience significant health disparities during the postpartum period. Contextual stressors, such as economic stress, are theorized to affect health via dysregulated cortisol output. However, cultural protective factors including strong family support may buffer the impact of stress. In a sample of 322 low-income Mexican American women (mother age 18–42; 82% Spanish-speaking; modal family income $10,000–$15,000), we examined the interactive influence of economic stress and family support at 6 weeks postpartum on maternal cortisol output (AUCg) during a mildly challenging mother–infant interaction task at 12 weeks postpartum, controlling for 6-week maternal cortisol and depressive symptoms. The interaction significantly predicted cortisol output such that higher economic stress predicted higher cortisol only among women reporting low family support. These results suggest that family support is an important protective resource for postpartum Mexican American women experiencing elevated economic stress.

Keywords:

• cortisol
• social support
• Mexican American
• economic stress
• perinatal

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank the mothers and infants for their participation; Kirsten Letham, Anne Mauricio, and Monica Gutierrez for their assistance with data collection and management; Dr Dean Coonrod and the Maricopa Integrated Health Systems for their assistance with recruitment; and the interviewers for their commitment and dedication to this project.

Funding

This research was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH083173-01).

Notes

* An additional 7 women were flagged as potentially problematic due to low AUCg (n = 1), single time point cortisol values > 3 SD from the mean (n = 3), thyroid or high blood pressure medication (n = 2), and cervical cancer (n = 1). When primary analyses were repeated excluding these cases, the results showed a small increase in statistical significance. Therefore, all data were retained in analyses.