Offspring of Maltreated Mothers:Prenatal &Infant Health

This is a proposal to utilize data collected in a 13-year prospective, longitudinal study of the impact of sexual abuse on female development and to further assess the prenatal and postnatal complications experienced by participants who have become mothers. The specific aims are to establish a link between the trauma of childhood sexual abuse and subsequent labor, delivery, and postnatal complications and to ascertain the pre-pregnancy factors (both physiological and psychological), prenatal factors (such as prenatal care, pregnancy intendedness, social support, stress, and substance used, and contextual factors (ethnicity, SES, age at conception,, and subsequent traumas) which mediate the relationship between childhood trauma and obstetric risk. A second is also proposed that will serve as a pilot study of the long-term effects of labor, delivery, and postnatal complications on the development of children. Specifically, this pilot study will ascertain the extent to which children who are identified as maltreated also experienced prenatal and postnatal complications while taking into account intervening variables such as caregiver factors (parenting style, dissociation, anxiety, and depression) and child factors (perceived competence, relationship quality, behavior problems, and cognitive abilities). This is also a proposal for extensive retraining in the areas of behavioral endocrinology, and high-risk obstetrics. The training component will involve extensive independent reading, coursework, seminars, conferences, and concentrated time with mentors.