Pubertal maturation is independent of family structure but daughters of divorced (but not dead) fathers start reproduction earlier

Valge, Markus; Meitern, Richard; Hõrak, Peeter

doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2021.11.004

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…For example, in a comparison of 22 small-scale human societies (hunter-gatherers and subsistence-based horticulturalists), poor energetic conditions were associated with later ages of menarche and first birth, whereas higher childhood mortality rates were associated with earlier ages of menarche and first birth (Walker et al, 2006). Likewise, in cohort studies in Estonia, the Philippines, and Brazil, complex adversity exposures involving energetic deprivation together with other forms of harshness or unpredictability (e.g., poverty, parental instability, sibling death) predicted both later pubertal development and earlier ages at first reproduction (Gettler et al, 2015;Hõrak et al, 2019;Valge et al, 2021;Wells et al, 2019). In the Brazilian cohort, other shifts toward faster life history-related traits were also observed, including greater risky behavior indicative of future discounting (i.e., smoking, criminal behavior) (Wells et al, 2019).…”

Section: Energetic Deprivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why and how does early adversity influence development? Toward an integrated model of dimensions of environmental experience

et al. 2022

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Two extant frameworks – the harshness-unpredictability model and the threat-deprivation model – attempt to explain which dimensions of adversity have distinct influences on development. These models address, respectively, why, based on a history of natural selection, development operates the way it does across a range of environmental contexts, and how the neural mechanisms that underlie plasticity and learning in response to environmental experiences influence brain development. Building on these frameworks, we advance an integrated model of dimensions of environmental experience, focusing on threat-based forms of harshness, deprivation-based forms of harshness, and environmental unpredictability. This integrated model makes clear that the why and the how of development are inextricable and, together, essential to understanding which dimensions of the environment matter. Core integrative concepts include the directedness of learning, multiple levels of developmental adaptation to the environment, and tradeoffs between adaptive and maladaptive developmental responses to adversity. The integrated model proposes that proximal and distal cues to threat-based and deprivation-based forms of harshness, as well as unpredictability in those cues, calibrate development to both immediate rearing environments and broader ecological contexts, current and future. We highlight actionable directions for research needed to investigate the integrated model and advance understanding of dimensions of environmental experience.

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Section: Energetic Deprivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why and how does early adversity influence development? Toward an integrated model of dimensions of environmental experience

et al. 2022

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“…Data on morphometric measurements and family background were obtained from the anthropometric study performed by Juhan Aul between 1956 and 1969 [for the historical background of this sample, see ( 34 , 49 )]. Details for measurements are described in ( 35 ): Hip width (bicristal diameter) was measured as the distance between the external margins of the iliac crests.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mothers of small-bodied children and fathers of vigorous sons live longer

Valge

Meitern²,

Hõrak³

2023

Front. Public Health

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Life-history traits (traits directly related to survival and reproduction) co-evolve and materialize through physiology and behavior. Accordingly, lifespan can be hypothesized as a potentially informative marker of life-history speed that subsumes the impact of diverse morphometric and behavioral traits. We examined associations between parental longevity and various anthropometric traits in a sample of 4,000–11,000 Estonian children in the middle of the 20th century. The offspring phenotype was used as a proxy measure of parental genotype, so that covariation between offspring traits and parental longevity (defined as belonging to the 90th percentile of lifespan) could be used to characterize the aggregation between longevity and anthropometric traits. We predicted that larger linear dimensions of offspring associate with increased parental longevity and that testosterone-dependent traits associate with reduced paternal longevity. Twelve of 16 offspring traits were associated with mothers' longevity, while three traits (rate of sexual maturation of daughters and grip strength and lung capacity of sons) robustly predicted fathers' longevity. Contrary to predictions, mothers of children with small bodily dimensions lived longer, and paternal longevity was not linearly associated with their children's body size (or testosterone-related traits). Our study thus failed to find evidence that high somatic investment into brain and body growth clusters with a long lifespan across generations, and/or that such associations can be detected on the basis of inter-generational phenotypic correlations.

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“…Data on morphometric measurements and family background were obtained from the anthropometric study performed between 1956 and 1969 (for the historical background of this sample, see Refs. 7, 15, and 38). The aim of the original project, initiated by the founder of physiological anthropology in Estonia, Prof Juhan Aul (1897–1994), was typical to the first half of the 20th century: to map the diversity of body size and shape (somatotypes), as well as rates of growth and pubertal maturation of Estonian children concerning their birth years, geographic location, social, and urban versus rural origin.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This study aims to overcome such problems by comparing anthropometric traits of individuals with low parities (i.e., nulliparous, or those with one or two offspring) against those with higher parities so that in each pairwise comparison between groups, individuals with low and high parities are exactly matched on the basis of their birth years. Such an approach enables to overcome the confounding effect of cohort‐wise variation in LRS 15 and makes estimates of the magnitude of selection directly comparable between sexes, see Ref. 16.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexually antagonistic selection on educational attainment and body size in Estonian children

Valge

Meitern

Hõrak

2022

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

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Natural selection is a key mechanism of evolution, which results from the differential reproduction of phenotypes. We describe fecundity selection at different parity transitions on 15 anthropometric traits and educational attainment in Estonian children sampled in the middle of 20th century. The direction of selection on educational attainment and bodily traits was sexually antagonistic, and it occurred via different parity transitions in boys and girls. Compared to boys with primary education, obtaining tertiary education was associated with 3.5 times and secondary education two times higher odds of becoming a father. Transition to motherhood was not related to educational attainment, while education above primary was associated with lower odds (OR = 0.5-0.7) to progression to parities above one and two. Selection on anthropometric traits occurred almost exclusively via childlessness in boys, while among the girls, most of the traits that were associated with becoming a mother were additionally associated with a transition from one child to higher parities. Male (but not female) fitness was thus primarily determined by traits related to mating success.Selection favored stronger and larger boys and smaller girls. Selection on girls favored some traits that associate with perceived femininity, while other feminine traits were selected against.

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Pubertal maturation is independent of family structure but daughters of divorced (but not dead) fathers start reproduction earlier

Cited by 5 publications

References 67 publications

Why and how does early adversity influence development? Toward an integrated model of dimensions of environmental experience

Why and how does early adversity influence development? Toward an integrated model of dimensions of environmental experience

Mothers of small-bodied children and fathers of vigorous sons live longer

Sexually antagonistic selection on educational attainment and body size in Estonian children

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