Continuous, emerging, and dissipating associations between prenatal maternal stress and child cognitive and motor development: The QF2011 Queensland Flood Study

- Disaster-related PTSD symptoms were associated with poorer child fine motor development, and this association persisted from 16 to 30 months.
- Some associations found at 16 months (e.g., between objective hardship and cognitive development) were not evident at 30 months.
- Further evidence was found for a potential psychological mechanism of transmission for the effects of prenatal maternal stress.
- Results suggest that intervention may be necessary in the wake of natural disasters in order to improve the development of children.