title: Mild perinatal adversities moderate the association between maternal harsh parenting and hair cortisol: Evidence for differential susceptibility.
abstract: It has been shown that following exposure to mild perinatal adversity, children have greater susceptibility to both the negative and positive aspects of their subsequent environment. In a large population-based cohort study (N = 1,776), we investigated whether mild perinatal adversity moderated the association between maternal harsh parenting and children's hair cortisol levels, a biomarker of chronic stress. Mild perinatal adversity was defined as late preterm birth (gestational age at birth of 34-37 weeks, 6 days) or small for gestational age (birth weight between the 2.5th and 10th percentile for full term gestational age). Harsh parenting was assessed by maternal self-report at 3 years. Children's hair cortisol concentrations were measured from hair samples collected at age 6. There were no significant bivariate associations between mild perinatal adversities and harsh parenting and hair cortisol. However, mild perinatal adversities moderated the association between maternal harsh parenting and hair cortisol levels. Children with mild perinatal adversity had lower cortisol levels if parented more harshly and higher cortisol levels in the absence of harsh parenting than children who did not experience mild perinatal adversity. These results provide further evidence that mild perinatal adversity is a potential marker of differential susceptibility to environmental influences.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands.|The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.|Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus University Medical Center-Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Dafna A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Windhorst
authors.affiliation: Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ralph C A
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Rippe
authors.affiliation: Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands.|The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.|Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus University Medical Center-Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Viara R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Mileva-Seitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus University Medical Center-Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Frank C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Verhulst
authors.affiliation: The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.|Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.|Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Vincent W V
authors.initials: VW
authors.lastname: Jaddoe
authors.affiliation: The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.|Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.|Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Gerard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Noppe
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Elisabeth F C
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: van Rossum
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Erica L T
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: van den Akker
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus University Medical Center-Sophia Children's Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.|Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.|Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Henning
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tiemeier
authors.affiliation: Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands.|School of Pedagogical and Educational Sciences, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marinus H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: van IJzendoorn
authors.affiliation: Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marian J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Bakermans-Kranenburg
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism*; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000502:physiology*; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: HPA axis; differential susceptibility; hair cortisol; mild perinatal adversities; parenting