Academic Journal
View in EDS

Maternal migration, prenatal stress and child autistic traits: insights from a population-based cohort study

Bibliographic Details
Title: Maternal migration, prenatal stress and child autistic traits: insights from a population-based cohort study
Authors: Leeuw, A.E. de, Ester, W.A., Bolhuis, K., Hoek, H.W., Jansen, P.W.
Source: Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Publication Year: 2025
Collection: Leiden Repository (Leiden University)
Subject Terms: autism spectrum disorder, migrant, ethnic minority, discrimination, prenatal stress
Description: Objective There is emerging evidence for an increased prevalence of autism in children of mothers with a migration background. To date, the mechanisms underlying this relationship are poorly understood. We investigated whether prenatal stress exposure mediates the association between maternal migration and child autistic traits, assessing first- and second-generation migrant mothers in the Netherlands and their children. Method The study was embedded in the prospective population-based Generation R cohort. Of the 4,727 participants, 1,773 mothers (38%) had a migration background. Prenatal stress was assessed using questionnaires related to stressful life events , family functioning , self-esteem, long-lasting difficulties, symptoms of psychopathology, social support, and perceived discrimination. Autistic traits were measured at age 6 years with the parent-reported Social Responsiveness Scale exclusively. Longitudinal multiple mediation analyses were performed. Analyses were stratified by migration origin (Europe and outside Europe) because of differences in migration characteristics. Results Maternal migration background was associated with more experienced stress and with higher child autistic trait scores (Europe: mean = 0.42, SD = 0.25; outside Europe: mean = 0.50, SD = 0.24) compared to no migration background (Netherlands: mean = 0.38, SD = 0.23; both p < .01). Prenatal stress, especially perceived discrimination and maternal psychopathology, accounted for up to half of the total effect of maternal migration, which remained after adjusting for sociodemographic factors (B indirect = 0.035, 95% CI = 0.027, 0.043, B total = 0.074). Conclusion Stress during pregnancy mediated the association between maternal migration status and child autistic traits. Future research should focus on early interventions to assess whether reducing prenatal stress exposure among women with a migration background can result in lower offspring autistic traits. ; New methods for child psychiatric diagnosis and treatment outcome ...
Document Type: article in journal/newspaper
File Description: application/pdf
Language: English
Relation: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890856724001837?via%3Dihub; https://hdl.handle.net/1887/4284050
DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2024.04.004
Availability: https://hdl.handle.net/1887/4284050
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890856724001837?via%3Dihub
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2024.04.004
Accession Number: edsbas.91F5283F
Database: BASE
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
CustomLinks:
  – Url: https://hdl.handle.net/1887/4284050#
    Name: EDS - BASE (ns324271)
    Category: fullText
    Text: View record from BASE
Header DbId: edsbas
DbLabel: BASE
An: edsbas.91F5283F
RelevancyScore: 908
AccessLevel: 3
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 907.8095703125
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Maternal migration, prenatal stress and child autistic traits: insights from a population-based cohort study
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Leeuw%2C+A%2EE%2E+de%22&quot;&gt;Leeuw, A.E. de&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Ester%2C+W%2EA%2E%22&quot;&gt;Ester, W.A.&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Bolhuis%2C+K%2E%22&quot;&gt;Bolhuis, K.&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Hoek%2C+H%2EW%2E%22&quot;&gt;Hoek, H.W.&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Jansen%2C+P%2EW%2E%22&quot;&gt;Jansen, P.W.&lt;/searchLink&gt;
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: Journal of the American Academy of Child &amp; Adolescent Psychiatry
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Year
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
– Name: Subset
  Label: Collection
  Group: HoldingsInfo
  Data: Leiden Repository (Leiden University)
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subject Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22autism+spectrum+disorder%22&quot;&gt;autism spectrum disorder&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22migrant%22&quot;&gt;migrant&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22ethnic+minority%22&quot;&gt;ethnic minority&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22discrimination%22&quot;&gt;discrimination&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;DE&quot; term=&quot;%22prenatal+stress%22&quot;&gt;prenatal stress&lt;/searchLink&gt;
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Description
  Group: Ab
  Data: Objective There is emerging evidence for an increased prevalence of autism in children of mothers with a migration background. To date, the mechanisms underlying this relationship are poorly understood. We investigated whether prenatal stress exposure mediates the association between maternal migration and child autistic traits, assessing first- and second-generation migrant mothers in the Netherlands and their children. Method The study was embedded in the prospective population-based Generation R cohort. Of the 4,727 participants, 1,773 mothers (38%) had a migration background. Prenatal stress was assessed using questionnaires related to stressful life events , family functioning , self-esteem, long-lasting difficulties, symptoms of psychopathology, social support, and perceived discrimination. Autistic traits were measured at age 6 years with the parent-reported Social Responsiveness Scale exclusively. Longitudinal multiple mediation analyses were performed. Analyses were stratified by migration origin (Europe and outside Europe) because of differences in migration characteristics. Results Maternal migration background was associated with more experienced stress and with higher child autistic trait scores (Europe: mean = 0.42, SD = 0.25; outside Europe: mean = 0.50, SD = 0.24) compared to no migration background (Netherlands: mean = 0.38, SD = 0.23; both p &lt; .01). Prenatal stress, especially perceived discrimination and maternal psychopathology, accounted for up to half of the total effect of maternal migration, which remained after adjusting for sociodemographic factors (B indirect = 0.035, 95% CI = 0.027, 0.043, B total = 0.074). Conclusion Stress during pregnancy mediated the association between maternal migration status and child autistic traits. Future research should focus on early interventions to assess whether reducing prenatal stress exposure among women with a migration background can result in lower offspring autistic traits. ; New methods for child psychiatric diagnosis and treatment outcome ...
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: article in journal/newspaper
– Name: Format
  Label: File Description
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: application/pdf
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: NoteTitleSource
  Label: Relation
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890856724001837?via%3Dihub; https://hdl.handle.net/1887/4284050
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1016/j.jaac.2024.04.004
– Name: URL
  Label: Availability
  Group: URL
  Data: https://hdl.handle.net/1887/4284050&lt;br /&gt;https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890856724001837?via%3Dihub&lt;br /&gt;https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2024.04.004
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: edsbas.91F5283F
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.91F5283F
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1016/j.jaac.2024.04.004
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: autism spectrum disorder
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: migrant
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: ethnic minority
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: discrimination
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: prenatal stress
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Maternal migration, prenatal stress and child autistic traits: insights from a population-based cohort study
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Leeuw, A.E. de
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Ester, W.A.
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Bolhuis, K.
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Hoek, H.W.
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Jansen, P.W.
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 01
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-locals
              Value: edsbas
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
              Type: main
ResultId 1