Preconception Exposure to Chronic Stressors Impairs Social Behaviors in Prairie Vole Offspring ( <i>Microtus ochrogaster</i> ): Partial Mediation by Parental Pair‐Bonding and Parenting Behaviors

Chronic stress can induce lasting physiological changes that may affect subsequent generations. Parental factors-such as affect, interparental relationship quality, and parenting styles-are potential mediators of these intergenerational effects. Utilizing the socially monogamous and biparental prairie vole, we previously reported that parents with a history of chronic stress exposure prior to conception (vs. stress-naïve parents), exhibited poorer pair-bonding quality and preferred maintaining physical contact while parenting. However, the impact of these subtle parental differences on offspring development remained unclear. Therefore, the current study examined the developmental and sociobehavioral outcomes in offspring indirectly exposed to preconception stress or in stress-naïve offspring. Indirectly stress-exposed offspring showed reduced allogrooming in juvenile males, inhibited social play in both sexes, and decreased self-grooming in adult females relative to their stress-naïve counterparts. These behavioral changes were partially mediated by parental allogrooming and aggression during early pair-bonding and parental proximity during the parental care task. These findings indicate that preconception stress is associated with impaired offspring sociobehavioral development, primarily through modifications in interparental relationships and parenting styles. These results underscore the importance of the preconception period in shaping offspring development and may inform both preclinical studies of stress transmission and clinical interventions targeting family dynamics.