产前母亲心理压力对儿童心理行为发展影响的研究述评

Influence of Prenatal Maternal Stress on the Psycho-behavioral Development of Their Children

产前母亲心理压力对儿童心理行为发展有着重要的影响。大量的研究证据表明,产前母亲的心理应激,对后代的情感或认知发展会产生消极的影响,如容易出现注意力缺陷/活动过度、焦虑、语言迟缓等问题。这种影响的潜在机制之一是下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺(HPA)轴的变化,另一个机制可能是,母亲压力或焦虑引起交感-肾上腺系统高度激活。关于产前母亲心理压力对儿童心理行为发展影响的研究,在方法学上存在一定的缺陷,也还有一些未明确的问题,如产前压力的敏感期、性别特异性效应等。未来这一领域应该开发更多的研究途径。已有的证据足以表明,应该积极开展关于预防、干预和支持性方案方面的研究,以减轻妊娠期的压力或焦虑及其对儿童发展的不利影响。

Prenatal maternal stress has important influence on the development of their offspring. A significant body of evidence reveals that prenatal maternal distress negatively influences the emotional or cognitive development, resulting in an increased risk of attention deficit/hyperactivity, anxiety, and language delay in their children. One of the underlining mechanisms is the change of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal （HPA） axis, the other is the activation of the sympathetic-adrenal system which caused by stress and anxiety. There are some methodological problems and unanswered questions such as the sensitive period and the sex-specific effects. Many important ways should be developed in this area of research. There is enough evidence now to warrant active research into prevention, intervention, and support programs to reduce stress or anxiety during pregnancy and their aversive effects on child outcome.