Sex-specific links between stress regulation in early life and anxiety in middle childhood

Abstract

Anxiety disorders become more prevalent in females from middle childhood onwards. Yet it is likely that predictors for developing these disorders occur earlier, with emerging evidence of sex differences. We examined whether early life predictors, including maternal depression, placental cortisol bioavailability, and infant cortisol reactivity, predict sex differences in anxiety disorders at age 8. Data are from 149 mothers recruited in the Mercy Pregnancy and Emotional Wellbeing Study (MPEWS) before 20 weeks’ gestation and their children followed to 8 years. Maternal measures included the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, State-Trait Anxiety ..