In a mouse model, researchers at the University of Haifa found that anxious mothers may have offspring that exhibit anti-social behavior.
However, they also discovered that stress-relieving interventions for the parents were effective in reversing this effect to some extent.
“As our study shows that the inheritance of the effects of adversity can be modified by timely intervention, this may have important educational and therapeutic implications,” said lead author Micah Leshem.
Since working mothers are by no means uncommon in today’s workplace, the findings have some relevance to workplace stress and preventing social problems in future generations.
