The Buffering Effect of Social Support on Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Function During Pregnancy

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dc.contributor.authorGiesbrecht, Gerald
dc.contributor.authorPoole, Julia
dc.contributor.authorLetourneau, Nicole
dc.contributor.authorCampbell, Tavis
dc.contributor.authorKaplan, Bonnie
dc.contributor.authorAPrON Study Team
dc.date.accessioned2015-11-07T04:24:54Z
dc.date.available2015-11-07T04:24:54Z
dc.date.issued2013
dc.descriptionArticles that are published open access will be freely available to read, download and share from the time of publication. Articles are published under the terms of the Creative Commons License Attribution-NonCommerical No Derivative 4.0, which allows readers to disseminate and reuse the article, as well as share and reuse of the scientific material. It does not permit commercial exploitation or the creation of derivative works without specific permission. To view a copy of this license visit: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 (see also http://journals.lww.com/psychosomaticmedicine/_layouts/oaks.journals/OpenAccess.aspx)en_US
dc.description.abstractObjective: Recent studies suggest that effective social support during pregnancy may buffer adverse effects of maternal psychological distress on fetal development. The mechanisms whereby social support confers this protective advantage, however, remain to be clarified. The aim of this study was to assess whether individual differences in social support alter the co-variation of psychological distress and cortisol during pregnancy. Methods: Eighty two pregnant women’s psychological distress and cortisol were prospectively assessed in all three trimesters using an ecological momentary assessment strategy. Appraisal of partner social support was assessed in each trimester via the Social Support Effectiveness questionnaire. Results: In multilevel analysis, ambulatory assessments of psychological distress during pregnancy were associated with elevated cortisol levels, unstandardized β = .023, p < .001. Consistent with the stress buffering hypothesis, social support moderated the association between psychological distress and cortisol, unstandardized β = -.001, p = .039, such that the co-variation of psychological distress and cortisol increased with decreases in effective social support. The effect of social support for women with the most effective social support was a 50.4% reduction in the mean effect of distress on cortisol and a 2.3 fold increase in this effect for women with the least effective social support scores. Conclusions: Pregnant women receiving inadequate social support secrete higher levels of cortisol in response to psychological distress as compared to women receiving effective social support. Social support during pregnancy may be beneficial because it decreases biological sensitivity to psychological distress, potentially shielding the fetus from the harmful effects of stress-related increases in cortisol.en_US
dc.description.refereedYesen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThis research was supported by funding from Alberta Innovates Health Solutions (awarded to B. Kaplan) and the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute for Child and Maternal Health (awarded to G. Giesbrecht, B. Kaplan, N. Letourneau, & T. Campbell). The sponsors had no influence over study design, data collection, data analysis or interpretation of the results, in writing this report, or in the decision to submit this article for publication.en_US
dc.identifier.citationGiesbrecht, G.F., Poole, J., Letourneau, N., Campbell, T., Kaplan, B.J. and the APrON Study Team (2013). The buffering effect of social support on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function during pregnancy. Psychosomatic Medicine, 75(9), 856-62.en_US
dc.identifier.doi10.1097/PSY.0000000000000004
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/33666
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1880/51011
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherPsychosomatic Medicineen_US
dc.publisher.corporateUniversity of Calgary
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Paediatricsen_US
dc.publisher.facultyMedicineen_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen_US
dc.publisher.urlhttp://journals.lww.com/psychosomaticmedicine/pages/default.aspxen_US
dc.rightsAttribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 International*
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/*
dc.subjectSocial Supporten_US
dc.subjectPsychological Distressen_US
dc.subjectSalivary Controlen_US
dc.subjectPregnancyen_US
dc.subjectHPA Axisen_US
dc.subjectBiobehavioral Coherenceen_US
dc.titleThe Buffering Effect of Social Support on Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Function During Pregnancyen_US
dc.title.alternativeEffective Social Support Buffers Hypothalamic-Pituitary Adrenal Axis Function During Pregnancyen_US
dc.typejournal article
thesis.degree.disciplinePaediatrics
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