Maternal Prenatal Depression and Child Autism Traits: Assessing Potential Risk and Protective Factors Restricted; Files & ToC

Abstract

Maternal depression during pregnancy has been associated with increased risk of the child developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This dissertation examined the association between prenatal maternal depression and child ASD traits and explored factors that might moderate this association in two studies. In Study 1, I examined the associations between prenatal maternal depression, maternal ASD traits, and child ASD traits in a large, nationwide consortium (N = 645). As expected, higher self-reported maternal ASD traits were associated with more parent-reported ASD traits in their children. I found that the association between maternal prenatal depression and child ASD traits persisted above and beyond maternal ASD traits and that maternal ASD traits did not moderate this association. Study 2 examined associations between prenatal maternal depression, prenatal maternal vitamin D, and child ASD traits in a sample of 207 Black American mother-child dyads. Surprisingly, we found a nonlinear, quadratic association between maternal vitamin D serum levels in late pregnancy and clinician-observed ASD traits in children, such that children of mothers with vitamin D levels near our sample’s median had less ASD traits relative to children of mothers with lower or higher levels of vitamin D. We did not find evidence that vitamin D has a protective effect in the relationship between prenatal maternal depressive symptoms and child ASD traits. This work has important implications for intervention as both maternal prenatal depressive symptoms and vitamin D levels are modifiable.

Table of Contents

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About this Dissertation

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School	Laney Graduate School
Department	Psychology
Subfield / Discipline	Clinical Science
Degree	Ph.D.
Submission	Dissertation
Language	English
Research Field	Psychology, Clinical
Keyword	prenatal depression intergenerational transmission of risk and resilience prenatal vitamin D autism spectrum disorder maternal ASD traits
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Patricia A. Brennan, Emory University
Committee Members	Anne L. Dunlop, Emory University Elaine Walker, Emory University Aubrey Kelly, Emory University Erin Ferranti, Emory University

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