eprintid: 10205527 rev_number: 15 eprint_status: archive userid: 699 dir: disk0/10/20/55/27 datestamp: 2025-03-04 11:10:27 lastmod: 2025-03-04 11:10:27 status_changed: 2025-03-04 11:10:27 type: article metadata_visibility: show sword_depositor: 699 creators_name: Yirmiya, Karen creators_name: Klein, Amit creators_name: Atzil, Shir creators_name: Yakirevich-Amir, Noa creators_name: Bina, Rena creators_name: Reuveni, Inbal title: The role of prenatal stress and maternal trauma responses in predicting children’s mental health during war // El papel del estrés prenatal y las respuestas maternas al trauma en la predicción de la salud mental infantil durante la guerra ispublished: pub divisions: UCL divisions: B02 divisions: C07 divisions: D05 divisions: F66 keywords: Prenatal stress; COVID-19; maternal behaviour; child mental health; war; trauma // Guerra; trauma; estrés prenatal; comportamiento materno; COVID-19; salud mental infantil note: Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. abstract: Background: The negative effects of prenatal stress on children’s development and the buffering effects of maternal behaviour are well documented. However, specific maternal responses to trauma, particularly among families experiencing cumulative stressors during pregnancy and early childhood, remain less understood. // Objective: This study investigated the interplay between prenatal stress in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and consequent maternal trauma responses and children’s difficulties in the context of war-related trauma. // Methods: We recruited 318 pregnant women in Israel during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (Time 1). Prenatal depression, anxiety, and COVID-related stress symptoms were assessed. When children were approximately 3.5 years old (SD = 0.02), the mothers were asked to report on parental responses related to the ongoing war and their child’s emotional and behavioural difficulties (Time 2). Structural equation modelling was used to examine how maternal trauma responses mediate the association between prenatal stress-related mental health symptoms and children’s difficulties during war. // Results: Maternal prenatal depressive, anxious, and COVID-19-related stress symptoms predicted maladaptive maternal trauma responses during the war, which in turn were associated with increased emotional and behavioural problems in their children. Among the specific maternal trauma-related responses examined, cognitive avoidance and overprotectiveness were the only behavioural responses during the war significantly associated with children’s difficulties. // Conclusions: Our study highlights the impact of pandemic-related prenatal stress on maternal responses and children's difficulties during war, emphasizing the importance of identifying at-risk families as well as developing targeted interventions that mitigate negative parenting responses, particularly avoidance and overprotection. date: 2025-12 date_type: published publisher: Informa UK Limited official_url: https://doi.org/10.1080/20008066.2025.2468542 oa_status: green full_text_type: pub language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green verified: verified_manual elements_id: 2365431 doi: 10.1080/20008066.2025.2468542 lyricists_name: Yirmiya, Karen lyricists_id: KYIRM33 actors_name: Yirmiya, Karen actors_id: KYIRM33 actors_role: owner full_text_status: public publication: European Journal of Psychotraumatology volume: 16 number: 1 article_number: 2468542 issn: 2000-8066 citation: Yirmiya, Karen; Klein, Amit; Atzil, Shir; Yakirevich-Amir, Noa; Bina, Rena; Reuveni, Inbal; (2025) The role of prenatal stress and maternal trauma responses in predicting children’s mental health during war // El papel del estrés prenatal y las respuestas maternas al trauma en la predicción de la salud mental infantil durante la guerra. European Journal of Psychotraumatology , 16 (1) , Article 2468542. 10.1080/20008066.2025.2468542 <https://doi.org/10.1080/20008066.2025.2468542>. Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10205527/1/Yirmiya_The%20role%20of%20prenatal%20stress%20and%20maternal%20trauma%20responses%20in%20predicting%20children%20s%20mental%20health%20during%20war.pdf