Parenting styles of abusive mothers in group-living rhesus macaques

Abstract

Abstract. Maternal abuse of offspring in group-living monkeys was investigated to assess whether abuse of infants can be interpreted as an adaptive reduction of parental expenditure or as a behavioural pathology. I compared the parenting styles of 10 abusive and 10 non-abusive rhesus macaque, Macaca mulatta, mothers living in three large captive groups over the first 12 weeks of infant life. I also analysed the social interactions between mothers and infants and other individuals. Abusive females scored higher than controls on several measures of maternal protectiveness and rejection, indicating that they were highly controlling mothers. They also received fewer contacts and approaches from other individuals, and tended to be more aggressive and more interested in other females' infants compared to non-abusive mothers. Infant abuse was accompanied by similar or higher parental expenditure in the offspring rather than by a reduction in expenditure, as predicted by the adaptive hypothesis. Therefore, the results of this study support the hypothesis that infant abuse is a form of behavioural pathology.

Behavioral and environmental correlates of infant abuse in group- living pigtail macaques

“…Monkey parenting styles generally vary along the two orthogonal dimensions of Protectiveness and Rejection, and mothers who rank high on both dimensions are classified as Controlling (Fairbanks, 1996). Therefore, the present study lends support to previous findings obtained with rhesus macaques (Mucaca mularru) showing that abusive mothers have highly Controlling parenting styles (Maestripieri, 1998). The association between infant abuse and controlling parenting style suggests that abuse may reflect inappropriate attempts to control the infant's behavior, perhaps in turn linked with maladaptive responsiveness to stress.…”

“…The criterion used to identify abusive mothers was the occurrence of at least one of the following behavior patterns in the first days days of lactation: infant dragging, crushing, throwing, or sitting/stepping on (see below for definitions). These are the most commonly observed patterns of infant abuse in macaques (Maestripieri, 1998;Maestripieri et al, 1997a;Troisi & D'Amato, 1983). Other abuse patterns such as hitting and infant Abuse in Monkeys 605 biting were not used for the initial identification of abusive mothers because they sometimes occur also during mother-infant weaning conflicts.…”

“…Infant abuse has been observed in both mothers reared and housed in conditions of social deprivation (Reite & Caine, 1983;Ruppenthal, Arling, Harlow, Sackett, & Suomi, 1976) and mothers born and reared in social groups (hereafter group-living), in captivity and in the wild (Hiraiwa, 1981;Maestripieri, 1994aMaestripieri, , 1998Troisi, D'Amato, Fuccillo, & Scucchi, 1982). Whereas infant abuse displayed by socially deprived monkeys is only one example of a host of abnormal social behaviors, group-living abusive mothers are otherwise normal individuals who possess and display a full range of competent social behaviors.…”

“…Studies of infant abuse in group-living macaques and mangabeys have revealed some similarities with child abuse in the prevalence of this phenomenon in large populations (5 10%; Maestripieri, Wallen, & Carroll, 1997a, 1997b, the intergenerational transmission of abuse (Maestripieri et al, 1997a), some psychological and behavioral characteristics of abusive parents (Maestripieri, 1998;Troisi & D'Amato, 1984), and the role of psychosocial stress in triggering abuse (Maestripieri, 1994a). Therefore, the study of this phenomenon could provide information potentially useful to the understanding and prevention of child abuse (Maestripieri & Carroll, 1998a).…”

“…Therefore, the study of this phenomenon could provide information potentially useful to the understanding and prevention of child abuse (Maestripieri & Carroll, 1998a). Infant abuse in group-living monkeys is a relatively infrequent phenomenon, however, and only one study has quantitatively investigated the behavior of abusive mothers and their infants with a sample size greater than one (Maestripieri, 1998).…”