TY - JOUR
T1 - Scratching as a behavioral index of anxiety in macaque mothers
AU - Troisi, Alfonso
AU - Schino, Gabriele
AU - D'Antoni, Monica
AU - Pandolfi, Nicoletta
AU - Aureli, Filippo
AU - D'Amato, Francesca R.
PY - 1991
Y1 - 1991
N2 - The aim of this study was to assess the validity of the notion that anxiety influences maternal style in monkeys. To this end, we investigated the correlations between measures of the quality of mother-infant relationship and scratching, a behavior pattern that reflects a state of anxiety. The subjects were seven group-living macaque mothers and their infants observed during the first 12 weeks postpartum. Postpartum scratching by the mothers was positively correlated with both maternal possessiveness and maternal warmth, two composite measures of the quality of mother-infant relationship that reflect a possessive and attentive maternal style. Evaluation of the correlations between maternal rank and scratching before and after parturition indicated that interactions with their infants, not those with other group companions, were the main source of anxiety for the mothers. These results support the notion that anxiety influences maternal style in monkeys and suggest that studies aimed at investigating physiological and social correlates of maternal emotionality in nonhuman primates could use scratching as a useful and simple behavioral measure.
AB - The aim of this study was to assess the validity of the notion that anxiety influences maternal style in monkeys. To this end, we investigated the correlations between measures of the quality of mother-infant relationship and scratching, a behavior pattern that reflects a state of anxiety. The subjects were seven group-living macaque mothers and their infants observed during the first 12 weeks postpartum. Postpartum scratching by the mothers was positively correlated with both maternal possessiveness and maternal warmth, two composite measures of the quality of mother-infant relationship that reflect a possessive and attentive maternal style. Evaluation of the correlations between maternal rank and scratching before and after parturition indicated that interactions with their infants, not those with other group companions, were the main source of anxiety for the mothers. These results support the notion that anxiety influences maternal style in monkeys and suggest that studies aimed at investigating physiological and social correlates of maternal emotionality in nonhuman primates could use scratching as a useful and simple behavioral measure.
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U2 - 10.1016/0163-1047(91)90469-7
DO - 10.1016/0163-1047(91)90469-7
M3 - Article
C2 - 1759948
AN - SCOPUS:0026321001
SN - 0163-1047
VL - 56
SP - 307
EP - 313
JO - Behavioral and Neural Biology
JF - Behavioral and Neural Biology
IS - 3
ER -