Risk factors occurring during pregnancy and birth in relation to brain functioning and child's anxiety.

Objective: This study examined whether the most objective risk factors during pregnancy (prenatal) and delivery (perinatal) precede child's anxiety, and whether these factors exerted their influence via child's non-specific cerebral functioning.

Method: Median-anxious (n=82) and high-anxious (n=188) children (8-12), enrolled via the use of an anxiety screening questionnaire. Mothers were interviewed on pre-/perinatal risk factors, and children completed a visuospatial copying task.