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Objective Fetal exposure to maternal prenatal stress hormones such as cortisol exerts influences on the developing nervous system that persist and include risk for internalizing symptoms later in life. Placental corticotropin-releasing hormone (pCRH) is a feto-placental stress signal that also shapes fetal neurodevelopment and may be a more direct indicator of the fetal experience than maternal stress hormones. The programming effects of pCRH on child development are unknown. The current investigation examined associations between prenatal maternal and placental stress hormone exposures (maternal cortisol and pCRH) and child self-reported internalizing symptoms at age 5. Method Maternal plasma cortisol and pCRH levels were measured at 15, 19, 25, 31, and 36 weeks’ gestation in a sample of 83 women and their 91 children (8 sibling pairs from separate pregnancies), who were born full-term. Child self-reported internalizing symptoms at age 5 were obtained using scales of the Berkeley Puppet Interview. Results Placental CRH profiles (including elevations in mid-gestation) were associated with higher levels of internalizing symptoms at age 5. This effect was not explained by critical prenatal or postnatal influences, including obstetric risk, concurrent maternal psychological state, and family socio-economic status. Prenatal maternal cortisol was not significantly associated with child self-reported internalizing symptoms. Conclusions Findings suggest that elevated exposures to the feto-placental stress signal pCRH exert programming effects on the developing fetal central nervous system, with lasting consequences for child mental health.

Twenty-one participants were interviewed about their experiences of parenting as intercultural couples, to understand how they navigate cultural differences within the family. Intercultural couples are defined in this study as heterosexual couples who have different sociocultural heritages with distinct cultures of origin as identified by the participants. All couples identified that either they or their parents were born and raised in a different country of origin from that of their partner’s. A grounded theory method was used for data analysis resulting in the development of a typology of cross-cultural parenting. The diverse strategies used by intercultural parents to negotiate diversity based on their cultural differences and their degree of mutual acculturation emerged to support this model. These strategies of adaptation included assimilation, cultural tourism, cultural transition, cultural amalgamation, and dual biculturalism. This framework can be used by mental health professionals to better understand how many couples may adapt to cultural differences to form healthy families.

According to U.S. Census Bureau data (2003), intercultural relationships are on the rise, and much has been written on cultural differences in marriage. Furthermore, a significant amount of literature has discussed differences in parenting based on racial, ethnic, and religious value differences between culturally different families. However, much less has been written on how parenting amplifies differences because of cultural diversity within a family. The purpose of this article is a review of the literature specifically on intercultural parenting. Differences that arise in intercultural relationships are briefly reviewed, followed by how those differences can be managed. Finally, a review of the literature specific to intercultural differences in parenting style and the development of a transcultural family is discussed.