Elevated disgust sensitivity in the first trimester of pregnancy: Evidence supporting the compensatory prophylaxis hypothesis

Fessler, Daniel M.T.; Eng, Serena J.; Navarrete, C. David

doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2004.12.001

« Previous Next »Evolution & Human Behavior
Volume 26, Issue 4 , Pages 344-351, July 2005

Elevated disgust sensitivity in the first trimester of pregnancy:

Evidence supporting the compensatory prophylaxis hypothesis

Daniel M.T. Fessler
- Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, USA
- Corresponding author. Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 341 Haines Hall, Box 951553, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553, U.S.A. Tel.: +1 310 794 9252; fax: +1 310 206 7833.
Serena J. Eng
- Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553, USA
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, USA
C. David Navarrete
- Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, USA

Received 18 October 2004

Abstract

By motivating avoidance of contaminants, the experience of disgust guards against disease. Because behavioral prophylaxis entails time, energy, and opportunity costs, Fessler and Navarrete [Evol. Hum. Behav. 24 (2003) 406–417] hypothesized that disgust sensitivity is adjusted as a function of immunocompetence. Changes in immune functioning over the course of pregnancy offer an opportunity to test this notion. Relative to later stages, the first trimester of pregnancy involves substantial suppression of the maternal immune response, and both maternal and fetal vulnerability to pathogens are greatest during this phase; food-borne illnesses, in particular, pose a threat during the first trimester. Using a Web-based survey of 496 pregnant women, we compared participants in the first trimester with those in later stages of pregnancy. Results reveal heightened disgust sensitivity in the first trimester, notably including disgust sensitivity in the food domain. This pattern is not simply a consequence of elevated nausea during the first trimester, as, although disgust sensitivity and current level of nausea are correlated, first trimester women remain more easily disgusted in the food domain even after controlling for the greater incidence of nausea. These results provide preliminary support for the hypothesis that disgust sensitivity varies during pregnancy in a manner that compensates for maternal and fetal vulnerability to disease.

Keywords: Pregnancy, Disgust, Immunosuppression, Nausea