Feasibility of an Online Acute Stressor in Preschool Children of Mothers with Depression

Maternal depression is a risk factor for future mental health problems in offspring, with stress-system function as a candidate vulnerability factor. Here we present initial validation of an online matching-task (MT) paradigm in young children exposed to maternal depression (N = 40), a first in stressor-paradigm research for this age group. Investigations of stress-system reactivity that can be conducted online are an innovative assessment approach, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicate high feasibility, with a >75% data collection success rate across measures, similar-to or better-than in-person success rates in young children. Overall, the online MT elicited significant heart rate but not cortisol reactivity. Individual differences in child mental health symptoms were a moderator of reactivity to the stressor such that children with lower, but not higher, behavioral problems exhibited the typical pattern of cortisol reactivity to the online MT. Results are aligned with allostatic load models, which suggest downregulation of stress-system reactivity as a result of experiencing adversity and mental health vulnerability. Consistent with in-person research, this suggests that an early phenotype for the emergence of behavior problems may be linked to altered stress-system reactivity. Results hold potential clinical implications for intervention development and the future of online stress-system research.

Trial Registration: Clinical Trial Registration: NCT04639557; (Building Regulation in Dual Generations—Telehealth Model [BRIDGE]).