title: Maternal postnatal depression predicts altered offspring biological stress reactivity in adulthood.
abstract: The offspring of depressed parents have been found to show elevated basal levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Whether heightened cortisol stress reactivity is also present in this group has yet to be clearly demonstrated. We tested whether postnatal maternal depression predicts subsequent increases in offspring biological sensitivity to social stress, as indexed by elevated cortisol reactivity. Participants (mean age 22.4-years) derived from a 22-year prospective longitudinal study of the offspring of mothers who had postnatal depression (PND group; n=38) and a control group (n=38). Salivary cortisol response to a social-evaluative threat (Trier Social Stress Test) was measured. Hierarchical linear modelling indicated that PND group offspring showed greater cortisol reactivity to the stress test than control group participants. Group differences were not explained by offspring depressive or anxiety symptoms, experiences of negative life events, elevated basal cortisol at age 13-years, subsequent exposure to maternal depression, or other key covariates. The findings indicate that the presence of early maternal depression can predict offspring biological sensitivity to social stress in adulthood, with potential implications for broader functioning.
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Psychology of Learning and Experimental Psychopathology, University of Leuven, Tiensestraat 102, Leuven 3000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Tom J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Barry
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology and CLS, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AL, UK; Department of Psychology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
authors.forename: Lynne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.affiliation: Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London WC1E 7HB, UK.
authors.forename: R M Pasco
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Fearon
authors.affiliation: Experimental Psychology, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Moutsiana
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology and CLS, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AL, UK; Department of Psychology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge University, Cambridge CB2 2AH, UK.
authors.forename: Ian M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Goodyer
authors.affiliation: John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Cambridge University, Cambridge CB2 3BY, UK.
authors.forename: Joe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Herbert
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK. Electronic address: s.l.halligan@bath.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Sarah L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Halligan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents; D019052:Depression, Postpartum / Q000150:complications*; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: Cortisol; Depression; Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis; Longitudinal; Maternal depression; Stress sensitivity