Browsing by Author "Tolvanen, Karita"

Objectives Multiple environmental factors are known to influence mental health, and factors occurring during developmentally sensitive periods are particularly important. Only little research has been done to study the effects of maternal positive mental health during pregnancy on child mental health. The aim of this study was to investigate how positive maternal mental health during pregnancy affects the offspring's mental health in late childhood. Methods The sample of the study (n=1954) is part of the longitudinal Prediction and Prevention of Preeclampsia and Intrauterine Growth Restriction (PREDO) study. Positive mental health was measured biweekly from 12-13 to 38-39 gestational weeks through questionnaires about positive emotions and perceived social support. Children’s psychiatric problems and prosocial behavior were measured through a questionnaire, which mothers filled when the child was 7–12-year-old. Additional subsample (n=226) was created to see if the results would change, when fathers would fill out the questionnaire about child mental health. Data were analyzed using multiple regression analyses. Maternal age at delivery, maternal education level, child’s sex and child’s age at the follow-up were controlled for in the analyses. Results and conclusions All of the scales used to measure positive maternal mental health during pregnancy were negatively associated with the child’s psychiatric problems and positively with prosocial behavior in the first sample (n=1954). In the subsample (n=226) only the scale for perceived social support was associated with child’s psychiatric problems and prosocial behavior. Positive maternal mental health during pregnancy predicted fewer psychiatric problems and more prosocial behavior in the offspring in late childhood.