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Maternal Coping Style and Perceived Adequacy of Income Predict CRH Levels at 14-20 Weeks of Gestation

Objective: This exploratory study examines the role of psychosocial—behavioral variables as predictors of elevated corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) at 14—20 weeks of gestation. Method: One hundred and twenty women were enrolled into the study. Blood samples were collected at 14—20 weeks of pregnancy and assayed for CRH. Participants completed questionnaires that included the Perceived Stress Scale, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies (CES) Depression Scale, the Pregnancy-Specific Anxiety (PAS) Scale, the Norbeck Social Support Questionnaire, the Life Orientation Test, the Brief COPE scale, and questions regarding violence/abuse, and work, sleep, and nutritional patterns. Results: Pregnant women with high CRH levels (15 pcg/ml and above) perceived their income to be inadequate, slept more hours at night, stood more hours during the day, and used the coping styles of disengagement or religion but not humor. Logistic regression identified three predictors for high CRH (accounting for 42.2% of the variance): perceived inadequacy of income and the use of ‘‘religion’’ and ‘‘disengagement’’ to cope with stress. Conclusions: These results are the first known to identify coping style and perceived income inadequacy as predictors of high CRH. Women with perceived inadequacy of income had almost three times the odds for high CRH. Women who used religion or disengagement to cope with stress had 14 times and 7 times the odds for high CRH levels, respectively. Higher CRH levels are associated with preterm birth (PTB). Thus, it may be important to include maternal coping style and perceptions of income inadequacy in future investigations of CRH levels and PTB.