Hormones and behavior in rhesus macaque abusive and nonabusive mothers: 2. Mother–infant interactions

This study investigated the differences in parenting style and hormonal variables in abusive and nonabusive rhesus macaque mothers during the first 2 months of lactation. All subjects lived in large social groups in outdoor corrals. Abusive mothers were more protective and more rejecting of their in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physiology & behavior 2000-10, Vol.71 (1), p.43-49
Main Authors: Maestripieri, Dario, Megna, Nancy L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Behavior, Animal - physiology
Behavioral psychophysiology
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child Abuse - psychology
Estradiol - blood
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hormones
Hormones - blood
Hormones and behavior
Humans
Individual differences
Infant abuse
Interpersonal Relations
Macaca mulatta
Maternal behavior
Maternal Behavior - physiology
Maternal Deprivation
Parenting - psychology
Pregnancy
Progesterone - blood
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
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Summary:This study investigated the differences in parenting style and hormonal variables in abusive and nonabusive rhesus macaque mothers during the first 2 months of lactation. All subjects lived in large social groups in outdoor corrals. Abusive mothers were more protective and more rejecting of their infants than nonabusive mothers, particularly in the first month. Abusive and nonabusive mothers did not differ in levels of circulating estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P) during the periparturitional period except that the decrease in P after parturition was less marked in abusive than in nonabusive mothers. Individual differences in periparturitional E2 or P were not correlated with differences in parenting style. Mothers with higher frequencies of abuse, however, had significantly higher values of the E2-to-P ratio in the last week of pregnancy and significantly lower values of P in the first week of lactation than mothers with lower frequencies of abuse. Although pregnancy or lactation hormones are unlikely to be one of the main determinants of abusive behavior, endocrine variables may interact with personality characteristics or environmental factors in causing this phenomenon.
ISSN:0031-9384
1873-507X
DOI:10.1016/S0031-9384(00)00338-3