COVID-19 hardship influences the relationship between prenatal maternal adversity and youth mental health: MAVAN longitudinal study

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in daily life disruptions, leading to concerns about youth psychopathology. This study examined whether pandemic-related daily life change and personal threat experiences moderated the relationship between prenatal maternal adversity and youth psychopathology during the pandemic. Methods: The analysis included 144 youths from the Maternal Adversity, Vulnerability, and Neurodevelopment cohort assessed between February and July 2021. Prenatal maternal affective symptoms or perinatal maternal socio-environmental adversity, youth disrupted life experiences and perceived personal threats, and youth psychopathology were constructed into latent variables and then included in interactive models. Results: Youth with low or moderate prenatal maternal affective symptoms exposure experienced higher pandemic general psychopathology, specific internalizing symptoms (but not externalizing symptoms), and greater pre-pandemic to pandemic change in their psychopathology when they experienced more daily life change and/or personal threat. Conclusions: The greatest impact on youth psychopathology was seen in youth who experienced greater disruptions to their daily lives and/or personal threats and who experienced lower exposure to prenatal maternal affective symptoms.