European Psychiatry - Volume 41 - April 2017

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S30 25th European Congress of Psychiatry / European Psychiatry 41S (2017) S8–S52
a composite score for maternal early life adversities, and prenatal
depressive symptoms into account.
Results Genetic risk for MDD associated with trajectories of
maternal well being in the postpartum, conditional on the experi-
ence of early life adversities and prenatal symptoms of depression.
We will explore whether these trajectories are also linked to
DNA methylation patterns in mothers and their offspring. Prelimi-
nary analyses suggest that maternal early life adversities associate
with offspring DNA methylation age estimates, which is mediated
through maternal mental well being and maternal DNA methyla-
tion age estimates.
Conclusion We found relevant gene-environment interactions
associated with trajectories of maternal well being. Our findings
inform research on mechanisms underlying familial transmission
of vulnerability for psychopathology and might thus be relevant to
prevention and early intervention programs.
Disclosure of interest The authors have not supplied their decla-
ration of competing interest.
S073
Once and again: Intergenerational
transmission of parenting
K. Tombeau Cost ∗, E. Unternaehrer , W. Jonas , H. Gaudreau ,
A.A. Bouvette-Tourcot , M. Steiner , J. Lydon , P. Szatmari ,
M. Meaney , A. Fleming
1 Psychology, Canada
2 McGill University, Psychology, Montreal, Canada
3 Karolinska Institute, Department of Women’s and Children’s Health,
Stockholm, Sweden
4 McMaster University, Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences,
Hamilton, Canada
5 The Hosptial for Sick Children, Psychiatry, Toronto, Canada
6 University of Toronto Mississauga, Psychology, Mississauga, Canada
∗ Corresponding author.
Introduction Animal and human studies suggest that individual
differences in maternal parenting behaviour are transmitted from
one generation to the next.
Objective This study aimed to examine potential psychoso-
cial mechanisms underlying an intergenerational transmission of
conceptualization of parenting, including affect, cognition, and
parental support.
Methods In a subsample of 201 first-time mothers participating
in the Maternal Adversity, Vulnerability and Neurodevelopment
(MAVAN) project, we assessed maternal childhood rearing expe-
riences, using the Parental Bonding Instrument and the Childhood
Trauma Questionnaire. At 6 months postpartum, mothers com-
pleted questionnaires on parenting stress, symptoms of depression,
internalization of maternal care regulation and current relationship
with mother and father.
Results We found significant direct associations of maltreat-
ment and rearing by the grandmother with parenting stress at 6
months. These associations were mediated through distinct psy-
chosocial pathways: the association of maltreatment on higher
parenting stress was fully mediated through more maternal symp-
toms of depression (z = 2.297; P = 022). The association between
sub-optimal rearing provided by the mother and higher parenting
stress wasmediated through lower internalization of maternal care
regulation (z = -2.155; P = 031) and to a lesser degree through more
symptoms of depression (z = -1.842; P = 065). Finally, higher quality
rearing by the grandfather was indirectly related to lower par-
enting stress through positive current relationship with the father
(z = -2.617; P = 009).
Conclusions There are distinct pathways by which early experi-
ences manifest in parenting stress. By understanding the structure
of dysregulated parenting, clinicians will have practical informa-
tion to specifically target maternal motivation, social supports, and
depressed mood to disrupt maladaptive parenting cognitions and
practices.
Disclosure of interest The authors have not supplied their decla-
ration of competing interest.
S074
Early adversity, symptoms of
depression and breastfeeding
W. Jonas ∗ leming Steiner J. Meaney
L. Atkinson Mileva Sokolowski ennedy
1 Karolinska Institute, Department of Women’s and Children’s Health,
Stockholm, Sweden
2 University of Toronto, Department of Psychology, Toronto, Canada
3 McMaster University, Departments of Psychiatry & Behavioural
Neurosciences and Obstetrics & Gynecology, Hamilton-ON-CA,
Canada
4 McGill University, Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology and
Neurosurgery, Montreal, Canada
5 Ryerson University, Department of Psychology, Toronto, Canada
6 University of Toronto, Department of biological Genetics, Toronto,
Canada
7 Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Psychiatric Neurogenetics
Section, Toronto, Canada
∗ Corresponding author.
Backround There is considerable variation in the prevalence of
breastfeeding, which allows for investigation of factors that influ-
ence the initiation and duration of breastfeeding and its association
with well being of the mother infant dyad.
Aims To better understand factors that influence (1) maternal
breastfeeding status and (2) the “effects” of breastfeeding onmoth-
ers and infants.
Methods Participants (n = 170) derive from a longitudinal Cana-
dian study “Maternal Adversity, Vulnerability and Neurodevelop-
ment (MAVAN)”, a project designed to understand the pre- and
postnatal influences on maternal health and child social-emotional
development. Mothers provided data on breastfeeding status, early
life adversity, oxytocin gene and oxytocin gene receptor poly-
morphisms, depression/anxiety, infant temperament andmaternal
sensitivity.
Results Early life adversity associated with a shorter breastfeed-
ing duration and higher maternal depression levels. The relation
between mothers’ early adversity and the duration of breastfeed-
ing was mediated by mothers’ depression level, but only in women
carrying one variant of the oxytocin rs2740210 gene marker (CC
genotype). Mothers who breastfeed at 3 months acted more sensi-
tively towards their infants when they were 6 months old and they
in turn had infants who at 18 months showed reduced negative
affectivity.
Conclusion Women who have been exposed to early adversity
are “living with the past” and they are, to certain extent, protected
or more vulnerable to depression, depending on their genotype.
Breastfeeding associated with higher maternal sensitivity, which
associated with decreased negative emotionality in the infant at 18
months. Our results help to clarify associations between early life
experiences, breastfeeding, and the mother-infant relationship.
Disclosure of interest The authors have not supplied their decla-
ration of competing interest.
S075
Perinatal stress, anxiety, and
depression: Effects of a MBCP
intervention on mother-infant
interaction