Doctoral Dissertation Research: Intergenerational effects of prenatal stress on physiological and psychosocial outcomes

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In recent decades, research has underscored the importance of early life experiences, especially those that occur in utero, as factors that influence biological outcomes across the life course. Growing evidence suggests that some early life biological effects, such as those triggered by psychosocial stress, can persist into adulthood and in some cases influence offspring and grandoffspring development. This doctoral research project will use existing survey data, and newly collected data and biological samples, to examine life course and intergenerational effects of early life stress experienced by now young-adult mothers who were exposed to highly adverse social conditions. The research will advance knowledge about potential biological pathways of multigenerational effects of stress in humans, and contribute more broadly to our understanding of the complex interplay between human biology and culture. The outcomes of this project will contribute valuable data that may inform public health research and policy. The project will also support student training, international research collaborations, and science outreach activities. Researchers have proposed that there may be multigenerational pathways of biological "memory" whereby an individual's biology reflects not only their own experiences and that of their mothers, but potentially also their grandmothers' experiences. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is a central component of the body's system of stress response and is among the candidate outcomes likely to be influenced by such multigenerational plasticity. This study provides a unique opportunity to trace the long-term impacts of early life stress exposure to biological and social disparities, focusing on both the physiology and well-being of exposed individuals, and the birth outcomes and stress physiology of their unexposed offspring. This project will utilize existing and newly collected data for a cohort of women, their children, and grandchildren, that has been followed for nearly 30 years and that experienced highly adverse social and environmental conditions. The investigators will first assess long-term effects of the mother's stress experiences during her own early life on her adult biology and well-being, before exploring downstream impacts on her offspring.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.