Regulatory T-cell phenotypes in prenatal psychological distress.

BACKGROUND: Experiencing symptoms of psychological distress during pregnancy is common and has been linked to dysregulated immune functioning. In this context, immunoregulatory function is especially relevant because of its crucial role in establishment and maintenance of healthy pregnancy. However, little research has examined associations between women's prenatal psychological distress and immunoregulatory biomarkers. We investigated how symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress relate to circulating levels of regulatory T-cells (Tregs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pregnant Latina women were assessed at around 12 weeks of pregnancy (N = 82). These assessments included blood draws and self-report questionnaires assessing symptoms of depression, state anxiety, pregnancy-related anxiety, and perceived stress. Flow cytometry on PBMCs was used to quantify circulating Tregs, defined as CD3+CD4+CD25hiCD127loFoxP3+, and subpopulations positive for one of the following intra- or extracellular markers, CD45RA, CTLA-4, Helios, PD-1, TIM-3, and TIGIT. We collected 82 samples at 12 weeks. Multivariable linear regressions tested for associations between symptoms of psychological distress and Treg concentrations, adjusted for gestational age. RESULTS: State anxiety symptoms at 12 weeks were negatively associated with parent Treg cell levels (b = -4.02, p = 0.023) and subpopulations Helios+ (b = -3.29, p = 0.019) and TIM3+ (b = -3.17, p = 0.008). Perceived stress was negatively associated with the PD-1+ subpopulation at 12 weeks (b = -4.02, p = 0.023). Depression was not related to Tregs or the subpopulations. CONCLUSION: Our observation that symptoms of anxiety and stress are related to tolerogenic immunology suggests a possible biomechanism explaining correlations of maternal mood disorders with adverse outcomes for mothers and offspring.

An evolutionary perspective on the association between grandmother-mother relationships and maternal mental health among a cohort of pregnant Latina women.

Grandmothers are often critical helpers during a mother's reproductive career. Studies on the developmental origins of health and disease demonstrate how maternal psychological distress can negatively influence fetal development and birth outcomes, highlighting an area in which soon-to-be grandmothers (henceforth "grandmothers") can invest to improve both mother and offspring well-being. Here, we examine if and how a pregnant woman's mental health- specifically, depression, state-anxiety, and pregnancy-related anxiety- is influenced by her relationship with her fetus' maternal and paternal grandmother, controlling for relationship characteristics with her fetus' father. In a cohort of pregnant Latina women in Southern California (N = 216), we assessed social support, geographic proximity, and communication between the fetus' grandmothers and pregnant mother. We assessed maternal mental health with validated questionnaire-based instruments. We find that both social support from and communication with the maternal grandmother were statistically associated with less depression, while no paternal grandmother relationship characteristics were statistically significant in association with any mental health variable. These results align with the idea that maternal grandmothers are more adaptively incentivized to invest in their daughters' well-being during pregnancy than paternal grandmothers are for their daughters-in-law. Results suggest that the positive association of maternal grandmothers with mothers' mental health may not hinge on geographic proximity, but rather, potentially function through emotional support. This work represents a novel perspective describing a psychological and prenatal grandmaternal effect.

A longitudinal study of how women's prenatal and postnatal concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic predicts their infants' social-emotional development.

Infant social-emotional development may be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigated associations between maternal pre- and postnatal pandemic-related concerns and social-emotional developmental risk. Data, collected in 2020-2021, came from 220 mothers (87% white, 6% Hispanic, 1% Black, 3% Asian, 1% American Indian, Mage = 32.46 years), and infants (53.18% male, Mage = 12.98 months) in the United States. Maternal postnatal pandemic-related concerns were associated with total risk scores (B = 6.09, p-value <.001) and offspring risk of scoring positive for problems related to inflexibility (B = 4.07, p-value = .006). The total score association was moderated by self-reported social support. Infants may be detrimentally impacted by the pandemic via maternal pandemic-related concerns. Maternal social support may buffer infants.

How prenatal cortisol levels relate to grandmother-mother relationships among a cohort of Latina women.

INTRODUCTION: As part of the human reproductive strategy, mothers receive childcare assistance from others. For kin, allomothers are adaptively incentivized to provide assistance due to inclusive fitness benefits. Previous studies across a broad range of populations identify grandmothers as particularly consistent allomothers. Minimal attention has been paid to the possibility that allomothers may begin investing in offspring quality during the prenatal stage of life. Here, we innovate within the area of grandmother allocare research by examining the prenatal stage of life and biopsychosocial mechanisms by which prenatal grandmother effects may be enacted. METHODS: Data derive from the Mothers' Cultural Experiences study, a cohort of 107 pregnant Latina women in Southern California. At <16 weeks' gestation, we administered questionnaires, collected morning urine samples, and measured cortisol by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, correcting for specific gravity. We measured the soon-to-be maternal and paternal grandmothers' relationship quality, social support, frequency of seeing each other, communicating, and geographic proximity to pregnant mothers, that is, their daughters and daughters-in-law. These measures were self-reported by the pregnant mothers. We assessed how grandmother constructs related to the pregnant women's depression, stress, anxiety, and cortisol levels. RESULTS: We observed benefits conferred by maternal grandmothers for mothers' prenatal mental health and lower cortisol levels. Paternal grandmothers also conferred mental health benefits to pregnant daughters-in-law, but higher cortisol levels. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that grandmothers, especially maternal grandmothers, are able to improve their inclusive fitness by caring for pregnant daughters, and allomother support may positively impact prenatal health. This work extends the traditional cooperative breeding model by identifying a prenatal grandmother effect, and, by examining a maternal biomarker.

Association of pica with cortisol and inflammation among Latina pregnant women.

Pica, the urge to consume items generally not considered food, such as dirt, raw starch, and ice, are particularly common among pregnant women. However, the biology of pica in pregnancy is not well understood. Therefore, this study aimed to assess how pica relates to endocrine stress and immune biomarkers in a cohort of pregnant Latina women in Southern California. Thirty-four women completed a structured pica questionnaire. Maternal urinary cortisol and plasma cytokine levels were measured between 21 and 31 weeks' gestation. Associations between pica during pregnancy and biomarkers were assessed using linear regression models adjusting for gestational age. Twelve (35.3%) of the pregnant women reported pica (geophagy and amylophagy) during pregnancy. In multivariate models, those who engaged in pica had higher levels of cortisol (ß: 0.37, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.073) and lower levels of IL-1ß (ß: -0.06, 95% CI: -0.11, -0.02), IL-8 (ß: -0.30, 95% CI: -0.56, -0.05), IL-21 (ß: -0.35, 95% CI: -0.63, -0.08), and type-1 inflammation composite (ß: -0.29, 95% CI: -0.44, -0.14) than women who did not engage in pica. These results suggest that biological stress and immune response differ for women with pica compared to those without. This study suggests novel physiological covariates of pica during pregnancy. Further research is needed to better understand the mechanisms and temporality underlying the observed associations between pica and endocrine and immune biomarkers.

Sociopolitical stressors are associated with psychological distress in a cohort of Latina women during early pregnancy.

Research suggests that the 2016 US election was a potential stressor among Latinos residing in the United States. Sociopolitical stressors targeted toward ethnic minority communities and become embodied through psychosocial distress. The current study investigates if and how sociopolitical stressors related to the 45th President, Donald Trump, and his administration are associated with psychological distress in early pregnancy of Latina women living in Southern California during the second half of his term. This cross-sectional analysis uses data from the Mothers' Cultural Experiences study (n = 90) collected from December 2018 to March 2020. Psychological distress was assessed in three domains: depression, state anxiety, and pregnancy-related anxiety. Sociopolitical stressors were measured through questionnaires about sociopolitical feelings and concerns. Multiple linear regression models examined the relationship between sociopolitical stressors and mental health scores, adjusting for multiple testing. Negative feelings and a greater number of sociopolitical concerns were associated with elevated pregnancy-related anxiety and depressive symptoms. The most frequently endorsed concern was about issues of racism (72.3%) and women's rights (62.4%); women endorsing these particular concerns also had higher scores on depression and pregnancy-related anxiety. No significant associations were detected with state anxiety after correction for multiple testing. This analysis is cross-sectional and cannot assess causality in the associations between sociopolitical stressors and distress. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the 2016 election, the subsequent political environment, and the anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies of former President Trump and his administration were sources of stress for Latinos residing in the United States.

The Effect of Cumulative Lifetime Estrogen Exposure on Cognition in Depressed Versus Non-Depressed Older Women.

OBJECTIVES: Two-thirds of individuals living with Alzheimer's disease are women. Declining estrogen levels influence mood and cognition. Cumulative lifetime estrogen exposure (CLEE) correlates with cognition later in life. We examined the relationship of CLEE to depression and cognition in older women with major depression compared to non-depressed women. DESIGN: Older women (age ≥60 years) with depression were compared to non-depressed women using a lifetime estrogen exposure questionnaire. CLEE was defined as combined durations of reproductive span (age of menopause minus age of menarche) and any post-menopausal hormone replacement therapy use. Higher vs lower CLEE groups were based on a median of 474 months of estrogen exposure. SETTING: University hospital outpatient research program. PARTICIPANTS: 135 women ≥60 years; 64 depressed and 71 non-depressed. MEASURMENTS: Participants completed a comprehensive cognitive test battery. General linear models were used to examine the association between cognitive domain scores and CLEE in depressed and non-depressed women, controlling for age, education, and ethnicity. RESULTS: Depressed and non-depressed groups had significantly different levels of CLEE, measured in months: mean 495.7 (SD 108.6) vs 456.4 (SD 66.0) months, F(1,130) = 5.01, p = .03. Within the non-depressed participants, higher CLEE was associated with improved delayed recall (F(1,59) = 5.94, p = .02, effect size = .61), while no such relationship was observed in the depressed group. CONCLUSION: Higher CLEE was associated with improvement in delayed recall among non-depressed, but not among depressed participants. This suggests a protective role of estrogen on memory in non-depressed older postmenopausal women. Further research should examine the role of the CLEE in antidepressant response and cognitive decline.

Development of the infant gut microbiome predicts temperament across the first year of life.

Perturbations to the gut microbiome are implicated in altered neurodevelopmental trajectories that may shape life span risk for emotion dysregulation and affective disorders. However, the sensitive periods during which the microbiome may influence neurodevelopment remain understudied. We investigated relationships between gut microbiome composition across infancy and temperament at 12 months of age. In 67 infants, we examined if gut microbiome composition assessed at 1-3 weeks, 2, 6, and 12 months of age was associated with temperament at age 12 months. Stool samples were sequenced using the 16S Illumina MiSeq platform. Temperament was assessed using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (IBQ-R). Beta diversity at age 1-3 weeks was associated with surgency/extraversion at age 12 months. Bifidobacterium and Lachnospiraceae abundance at 1-3 weeks of age was positively associated with surgency/extraversion at age 12 months. Klebsiella abundance at 1-3 weeks was negatively associated with surgency/extraversion at 12 months. Concurrent composition was associated with negative affectivity at 12 months, including a positive association with Ruminococcus-1 and a negative association with Lactobacillus. Our findings support a relationship between gut microbiome composition and infant temperament. While exploratory due to the small sample size, these results point to early and late infancy as sensitive periods during which the gut microbiome may exert effects on neurodevelopment.

A longitudinal study of women's depression symptom profiles during and after the postpartum phase.

BACKGROUND: An issue of critical importance for psychiatry and women's health is whether postpartum depression (PPD) represents a unique condition. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders asserts that major depressive disorder (MDD) may present with peripartum onset, without suggesting any other differences between MDD and PPD. The absence of any distinct features calls into question the nosologic validity of PPD as a diagnostic category. The present study investigates whether symptom profiles differ between PPD and depression occurring outside the postpartum phase. METHODS: In a prospective, longitudinal study of parturient women (N = 239), we examine the manifestation of depression symptoms. We assess factor structure of symptom profiles, and whether factors are differentially pronounced during and after the postpartum period. RESULTS: Factors were revealed representing: Worry, Emotional/Circadian/Energetic Dysregulation, Somatic/Cognitive, Appetite, Distress Display, and Anger symptoms. The factor structure was validated at postpartum and after-postpartum timepoints. Interestingly, the Worry factor, comprising anxiety and guilt, was significantly more pronounced during the postpartum timepoint, and the Emotional/Circadian/Energetic Dysregulation factor, which contained sadness and anhedonia, was significantly less pronounced during the postpartum period. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that PPD may be a unique syndrome, necessitating research, diagnosis, and treatment strategies distinct from those for MDD. Results indicate the possibility that Worry is an enhanced feature of PPD compared to depression outside the postpartum period, and the crucial role of sadness/anhedonia in MDD diagnosis may be less applicable to PPD diagnosis.

Maternal programming: Application of a developmental psychopathology perspective.

The fetal phase of life has long been recognized as a sensitive period of development. Here we posit that pregnancy represents a simultaneous sensitive period for the adult female with broad and persisting consequences for her health and development, including risk for psychopathology. In this review, we examine the transition to motherhood through the lens of developmental psychopathology. Specifically, we summarize the typical and atypical changes in brain and behavior that characterize the perinatal period. We highlight how the exceptional neuroplasticity exhibited by women during this life phase may account for increased vulnerability for psychopathology. Further, we discuss several modes of signaling that are available to the fetus to affect maternal phenotypes (hormones, motor activity, and gene transfer) and also illustrate how evolutionary perspectives can help explain how and why fetal functions may contribute to maternal psychopathology. The developmental psychopathology perspective has spurred advances in understanding risk and resilience for mental health in many domains. As such, it is surprising that this major epoch in the female life span has yet to benefit fully from similar applications.

Intergenerational transmission of the effects of acculturation on health in Hispanic Americans: a fetal programming perspective.

We propose a transdisciplinary, life span framework for examining the underlying cause of the observed intergenerational decline in health among Hispanic Americans. We focus on acculturation, and we posit that acculturation-related processes in first-generation Hispanic immigrant mothers may affect the intrauterine development of an unborn child, via the process of fetal programming, to produce phenotypic effects that may alter the susceptibility for noncommunicable chronic diseases. In this manner, an intergenerational cascade of perpetuation may become established. Our framework may shed light on the biological, behavioral, and social causes of intergenerational cycles of vulnerability among immigrant minority groups, with public health and policy implications for primary prevention and intervention.

Maternal grandmothers buffer the effects of ethnic discrimination among pregnant Latina mothers.

Ethnic discrimination during pregnancy is linked to maternal psychological distress, adverse birth outcomes and increased offspring morbidity and mortality. An evolutionary perspective reframes offspring health issues as a risk to maternal fitness. We argue that kin may be evolutionarily motivated to buffer psychosocial stressors for the mother during pregnancy. Previously, we found that the relationship of a pregnant woman with her own mother (fetus' maternal grandmother) had a positive association on maternal prenatal psychology, above and beyond her relationship with her fetus' father. Here, we ask if grandmothers buffer mothers' prenatal psychological distress from ethnic discrimination. Using self-report data collected from 216 pregnant Latina women living in Southern California, we found discrimination to be significantly, positively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress in linear regression models. Maternal grandmother communication attenuated the association of discrimination and all three psychological distress measures, adjusting for the mother's relationship with the father. Maternal grandmother emotional support similarly significantly moderated the relationship of discrimination with depression and anxiety. We did not observe any significant interactions for paternal grandmother relationships. Geographic proximity was not a significant stress buffer. Results suggest the important role maternal grandmothers play in perinatal mental health, and that these benefits exist uncoupled from geographic proximity.

Contact with caregivers is associated with composition of the infant gastrointestinal microbiome in the first 6 months of life.

OBJECTIVES: Little is known about how physical contact at birth and early caregiving environments influence the colonization of the infant gastrointestinal microbiome. We investigated how infant contact with caregivers at birth and within the first 2 weeks of life relates to the composition of the gastrointestinal microbiome in a sample of U.S. infants (n = 60). METHODS: Skin-to-skin and physical contact with caregivers at birth and early caregiving environments were surveyed at 2 weeks postpartum. Stool samples were collected from infants at 2 weeks, 2, 6, and 12 months of age and underwent 16S rRNA sequencing as a proxy for the gastrointestinal microbiome. Associations between early caregiving environments and alpha and beta diversity, and differential abundance of bacteria at the genus level were assessed using PERMANOVA, and negative binomial mixed models in DEseq2. RESULTS: Time in physical contact with caregivers explained 10% of variation in beta diversity at 2 weeks' age. The number of caregivers in the first few weeks of life explained 9% of variation in beta diversity at 2 weeks and the number of individuals in physical contact at birth explained 11% of variation in beta diversity at 6 months. Skin-to-skin contact on the day of birth was positively associated with the abundance of eight genera. Infants held for by more individuals had greater abundance of eight genera. DISCUSSION: Results reveal a potential mechanism (skin-to-skin and physical contact) by which caregivers influence the infant gastrointestinal microbiome. Our findings contribute to work exploring the social transmission of microbes.

Mothers' prenatal distress accelerates adrenal pubertal development in daughters.

Human life history schedules vary, partly, because of adaptive, plastic responses to early-life conditions. Little is known about how prenatal conditions relate to puberty timing. We hypothesized that fetal exposure to adversity may induce an adaptive response in offspring maturational tempo. In a longitudinal study of 253 mother-child dyads followed for 15 years, we investigated if fetal exposure to maternal psychological distress related to children's adrenarche and gonadarche schedules, assessed by maternal and child report and by dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), testosterone, and estradiol levels. We found fetal exposure to elevated maternal prenatal psychological distress predicted earlier adrenarche and higher DHEA-S levels in girls, especially first-born girls, and that associations remained after covarying indices of postnatal adversity. No associations were observed for boys or for gonadarche in girls. Adrenarche orchestrates the social-behavioral transition from juvenility to adulthood; therefore, significant findings for adrenarche, but not gonadarche, suggest that prenatal maternal distress instigates an adaptive strategy in which daughters have earlier social-behavioral maturation. The stronger effect in first-borns suggests that, in adverse conditions, it is in the mother's adaptive interest for her daughter to hasten social maturation, but not necessarily sexual maturation, because it would prolong the duration of the daughter allomothering younger siblings. We postulate a novel evolutionary framework that human mothers may calibrate the timing of first-born daughters' maturation in a way that optimizes their own reproductive success.

What Do Your Neighbors Think About You? How Perceived Neighbor Attitudes Toward Latinos Influence Mental Health Among a Pregnant Latina Cohort.

Latina women living in the USA experience disproportionately higher rates of psychological distress compared to their non-Latina White counterparts. Poor maternal mental health during pregnancy can contribute to intergenerational mental health disparities. Through this pathway, mothers' experiences, environments, and exposures (henceforth "exposures") during pregnancy become biologically embodied and can negatively affect the fetus and life-long developmental trajectories of her child. One of the exposures that can affect mother-offspring dyads is the neighborhood. With the goal of integrating anthropological and sociological theories to explain mental health disparities among pregnant Latina women, we explored how perceptions of neighbor attitudes may influence mental health during pregnancy. We analyzed self-reported responses from 239 pregnant Latina women in Southern California (131 foreign-born, 108 US-born) on their mental health and perceived attitudes of their neighbors using multiple linear regression models. Among foreign-born Latina women, living in neighborhoods with more favorable views of Latinos was associated with lower depression scores (pooled ß = - .70, SE = .29, p = .019) and lower pregnancy-related anxiety scores (pooled ß = - .11, SE = .05, p = .021), but greater state anxiety scores (pooled ß = .09, SE = .04, p = .021). Among US-born women, there were no associations between neighbor attitudes and mental health. Overall, results suggest that social environments are correlated with mental health and that foreign-born and US-born Latinas have varied mental health experiences in the USA. Our findings highlight the importance of improving aspects of neighborhood cohesion as part of maternal-fetal care management.

The future of evolutionary medicine: sparking innovation in biomedicine and public health.

Evolutionary medicine - i.e. the application of insights from evolution and ecology to biomedicine - has tremendous untapped potential to spark transformational innovation in biomedical research, clinical care and public health. Fundamentally, a systematic mapping across the full diversity of life is required to identify animal model systems for disease vulnerability, resistance, and counter-resistance that could lead to novel clinical treatments. Evolutionary dynamics should guide novel therapeutic approaches that target the development of treatment resistance in cancers (e.g., via adaptive or extinction therapy) and antimicrobial resistance (e.g., via innovations in chemistry, antimicrobial usage, and phage therapy). With respect to public health, the insight that many modern human pathologies (e.g., obesity) result from mismatches between the ecologies in which we evolved and our modern environments has important implications for disease prevention. Life-history evolution can also shed important light on patterns of disease burden, for example in reproductive health. Experience during the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has underlined the critical role of evolutionary dynamics (e.g., with respect to virulence and transmissibility) in predicting and managing this and future pandemics, and in using evolutionary principles to understand and address aspects of human behavior that impede biomedical innovation and public health (e.g., unhealthy behaviors and vaccine hesitancy). In conclusion, greater interdisciplinary collaboration is vital to systematically leverage the insight-generating power of evolutionary medicine to better understand, prevent, and treat existing and emerging threats to human, animal, and planetary health.

How demographics and concerns about the Trump administration relate to prenatal mental health among Latina women.

RATIONALE: The 2016 U.S. presidential election and its aftermath involved political rhetoric and policies that especially targeted women, Latinos, and immigrants. It is possible that concerns about the political environment could affect mental health of individuals in targeted groups. OBJECTIVE: In a cohort of 148 pregnant Latina women, this study investigated how demographics and political concerns related to each other and to maternal anxiety, depression, and perceived stress, which have been associated with adverse birth and child development outcomes. METHODS: In this cross-sectional, self-report study, participants in Southern California completed a one-time questionnaire from January 2017 to May 2018. RESULTS: The highest rates of endorsement were for concerns regarding President Trump's racism, attitude towards women, and deportation risk for family or friends. From several demographic variables, the only significant predictor of state anxiety was expectant parents' birthplaces. From several political concerns variables, the only significant predictor of state anxiety was President Trump's attitude towards women or women's rights. There were no significant effects on other mental health outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that birthplace and women's issues may be particularly salient anxiety risk factors for Latina pregnant women in this context. Because of the cross-sectional study design, it is possible that, conversely, pregnant women with high anxiety levels are particularly sensitive to the issue of birthplace or women's rights. Results imply that the political climate and events in the U.S. could have deleterious consequences that may cascade across generations of Latino Americans via effects on pregnant women.

How a pregnant woman's relationships with her siblings relate to her mental health: a prenatal allocare perspective.

BACKGROUND: In cooperatively breeding species, individuals may promote their inclusive fitness through allomothering. Humans exhibit some features of cooperative breeding, and previous studies have focused on allomothering by grandparents and juvenile siblings in the postnatal period. We hypothesize that a pregnant woman's relationships with her siblings (offspring's maternal aunts and uncles) are beneficial for maternal affect in ways that can enhance the siblings' inclusive fitness. Maternal affect during pregnancy is a salient target of allocare given the detrimental effects of antepartum mood disorders on birth and infant outcomes. METHODOLOGY: We test our hypotheses in a cohort of pregnant Latina women in Southern California (N = 201). Predictor variables of interest include number of siblings a participant has, if she has sisters, frequency of seeing siblings, and frequency of communication with siblings. Outcome variables measuring maternal affect include depression, state anxiety, pregnancy-related anxiety and perceived stress. RESULTS: Having at least one sister and greater frequency of communication with siblings were associated with fewer depressive symptoms during pregnancy. No significant associations were found between sibling variables and other measures of affect. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Results suggest that how frequently you communicate with, and not how often you see, siblings could be protective against risk of antepartum depression. Sibling allomothering could impart effects through social-emotional support rather than instrumental support, as a strategy to benefit the prenatal environment in which future nieces and nephews develop. Allomothering may be particularly important in cultural contexts that value family relationships. Future studies should investigate other communities.

Discrimination as a Moderator of the Effects of Acculturation and Cultural Values on Mental Health Among Pregnant and Postpartum Latina Women.

It is important to consider how identity, culture, and social adversity influence maternal mental health among Latina women both because this community faces unique cultural stressors and also because factors that undermine women's mental health during pregnancy and postpartum could have injurious consequences that cascade across generations. This study uses data from a questionnaire administered to Latina pregnant and postpartum women in Southern California, examining cultural orientation, discrimination, and mental health. Results demonstrate mental health benefits for both American and Latino cultural orientations, but the latter's benefit of lower anxiety was only apparent with high discrimination. American and Latino cultural values systems had opposite relationships with depression, with the latter protective and also positively associated with happiness. More traditional gender roles values were associated with greater perceived stress and lower happiness. Different aspects of familism had opposite effects as obligation was associated with less anxiety and referent (defining oneself communally with kin) with more. Results suggest that social adversity and cultural identity and values influence maternal psychology. This study makes a unique contribution by integrating anthropological and biopsychosocial methods and theories towards addressing an issue of public-health importance.

Es importante considerar cómo la identidad, la cultura y la adversidad social influyen en la salud mental materna entre mujeres latinas tanto porque esta comunidad enfrenta factores culturales únicos causantes de estrés como porque factores que socavan la salud mental de las mujeres durante el embarazo y el postparto podrían tener consecuencias perjudiciales en cadena a través de las generaciones. Este estudio utiliza información de una encuesta administrada a mujeres latinas en embarazo o en posparto en el sur de California examinando la orientación cultural, la discriminación y la salud mental. Los resultados demuestran los beneficios de la salud mental tanto para orientaciones culturales estadounidenses como latinas, pero el beneficio de la más baja ansiedad de las últimas fue sólo aparente con baja discriminación. Sistemas de valores culturales estadounidenses y latinos tienen relaciones opuestas con la depresión, con los últimos siendo protectores y también asociados positivamente con la felicidad. Valores más tradicionales sobre los roles de género fueron asociados con un mayor estrés percibido y más baja felicidad. Aspectos diferentes del familismo tuvieron efectos opuestos en la medida en que la obligación estuvo asociada con menor ansiedad y el referente (definirse uno mismo comunalmente con parientes) con mayor. Los resultados sugieren que la adversidad y la identidad cultural y los valores influyen en la psicología materna. Este estudio hace una contribución única al integrar métodos y teorías antropológicas y biopsicosociales hacia el abordaje de una cuestión de importancia en salud pública.