父亲参与教养对小学生攻击行为的影响:母亲育儿压力的部分中介效应

本研究旨在考察父亲参与教养对小学生攻击行为的影响以及母亲育儿压力在二者之间的中介作用,采用同伴提名法和问卷法对604名1~6年级小学生及其家长进行调查。潜变量结构方程模型拟合检验结果显示：父亲参与教养（互动性、可及性、责任性）对小学生攻击行为（身体攻击、关系攻击）具有显著的负向预测作用;在父亲参与教养与小学生关系攻击之间,母亲的育儿愁苦和亲子互动失调具有显著的部分中介作用;在父亲参与教养与小学生身体攻击之间,只有母亲的育儿愁苦具有显著的部分中介作用。上述结果表明,父亲参与教养可以通过减少母亲的育儿愁苦来降低儿童的关系攻击和身体攻击,还能通过减少母子互动失调来降低儿童的关系攻击。     

催产素对产后抑郁症患者母性行为的调节作用

产后抑郁症是指女性分娩后一段时间内出现的严重抑郁发作现象。研究表明, 催产素不仅参与分娩过程和正常的母性行为表达, 也在调节产后抑郁的发病及患者的母性行为中起到了重要的作用。产后抑郁症患者的情绪和认知功能受损, 这可能导致了母性行为表达质量的下降; 催产素可以通过中脑边缘多巴胺系统来调控母性行为, 作用于内侧视前区(MPOA)来激活中脑腹侧被盖区(VTA)-伏隔核(NAc)环路从而影响伏隔核内多巴胺的分泌; 催产素对产后抑郁症中母性行为的调节机制可能是通过调节五羟色胺系统的功能来发挥抗焦虑作用, 也可能是通过与其它激素的交互作用来加速母性行为的表达。未来研究进一步明确催产素在中枢神经环路中的功能差异, 以及社会支持对产后抑郁症患者催产素的使用带来的影响。     

Kinship does not affect litter defence in pairs of communally nesting female house mice

Communal litter defence by sister and nonsister female mice can provide a valuable experimental paradigm to test whether females invest preferentially in kin. Since females within sister and nonsister pairs have different coefficients of relatedness with the young, the cumulative litter has more fitness value for related than for unrelated partners. Sister and nonsister paired females that gave birth simultaneously (n = 18), or at least within 7 days from each other (n = 12), were tested for maternal aggression on post partum day 7, or 10 days after the first delivery, respectively. Sister (n = 14) and nonsister pairs (n = 16) did not differ in cumulative values of post partum aggression or in the extent to which aggression was balanced within the pair. The aggressive behavior of each female was not correlated with her relative proportion of pups in the litter. Rather, the combined scores of aggression within the pairs were found to be positively correlated with the cumulative litter size. The analysis of mouse litter defence behavior shows that, under conditions of communal nesting, kinship does not seem to affect parental investment in the young significantly. Rather, the cumulative litter size could be used by paired females as a major indicator for parental investment allocation.     

Maternal aggression in mice: Protection of young is a by-product of attacks at the home site

Lactating female mice attacked male intruders in their home cages but showed little attack behavior either in novel cages or in cages with which they had been familiarized. Presence or absence of young did not determine the occurrence of maternal aggression, whereas attacks on the young by the intruder decreased maternal aggression and increased cannibalism of pups by the dams. Apparently, if the function of maternal aggression in mice is protection of the young, such protection occurs because the pups are in a place where attacks are likely to occur and not because the dam “defends” the young.     

Maternal aggression toward infanticidal males of different social status in wild house mice (Mus musculus domesticus)

Maternal aggression was examined in wild female mice (Mus musculus domesticus) derived from animals trapped in Alberta, Canada. Lactating females were tested for their behavior toward intruder males during the time of postpartum estrus while housed in a two-cage apparatus containing a defensible nest area. Prior to being used as intruders, sexually naive males were screened for their behavior toward a newborn pup (83% exhibited infanticide). Only infanticidal males were then housed in pairs and allowed to establish a dominance hierarchy. Dominance status was further verified by a urine marking test. The dominant and subordinate infanticidal males were then placed into a lactating female's cage and observed for 1 hr. The test was terminated immediately when a male began to attack the pups. Lactating females attacked the males in both groups, but subordinate males received more intense attacks than dominant males. Dominant males elicited significantly more fear/defense behavior than subordinate intruders. All of the dominant males and only one submissive male attacked the pups. Females were thus successful in blocking infanticide only by infanticidal subordinate males. Since females do not persist in attacking males with high fighting ability, one function of maternal aggression could be to assess the fighting, and resource holding, potential of a future mate. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Maternal Separation Anxiety and Attitudes About Maternal Grandmother Participation in Child Care

A sample of 75 primiparas in Athens, Greece were interviewed 3 days following birth (T1) regarding their attitudes towards maternal grandmother participation in child care. A follow-up questionnaire measuring the same attitudes and maternal separation anxiety (MSA) was answered 3–8 months later (T2). It was found that maternal grandmothers were going to assist in child care in 68% of the cases. Higher scores on the MSA subscale ‘employment-related separation concerns’ were obtained by all mothers who were not assisted in child care by the maternal grandmother and were highest among those mothers intending to work before the child was 1 year old. Mothers who intended to work as well as those who had a higher educational level had significantly lower scores on the MSA subscale ‘maternal separation anxiety’. Overall, mothers expressed favourable attitudes towards maternal grandmother participation at T1 and T2. Positive attitudes were especially observed among mothers who relied on grandmothers for child care.     

Offensive and defensive bite-target topographies in attacks by lactating rats

The attacks by resident lactating Wistar rats on sexually naive conspecifics of both sexes were examined. Male and female intruders were equally attacked in terms of frequency and number of bites, but the topographies of biting seen in these encounters were different. Similarly to male-male agonistic interactions, females were attacked in a fashion which avoided bites to the head and snout (“offensive” attack), whereas males were frequently bitten on such vulnerable regions (“defensive” attack). This dichotomy in bite pattern suggests that different motivations and functions underlay maternal aggression in these situations. The defensive attack on males may be a deterrent to infanticide since only male intruders counterattack lactating females and kill their pups. The attack on females may be concerned with resource competition.     

Maternal territoriality as an offspring defense strategy in red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii,Girard)

The offspring‐defense hypothesis of maternal territoriality in solitary and semisocial mammals [Wolff JO and Peterson JA. 1998. Ethol Ecol Evol 10:227–239] was evaluated in another taxon using maternal and nonmaternal female red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii), a freshwater decapod crustacean that shows pronounced shelter‐related maternal aggression. The maternal females were of three different categories: (1) ovigerous, (2) carrying primarily stage 1 offspring, or (3) tending offspring that were primarily stage 2. Each female was in residence in an individual aquarium containing only a gravel substrate for 24 hr prior to serial intrusions by male conspecifics. Virtually all of the residents, maternal and nonmaternal, excavated a depression (shelter) in the substrate prior to the first intrusion. The results showed that residents in each of the maternal categories won a significantly higher proportion of their encounters than did the nonmaternal residents, which showed only negligible defense and lost every encounter. However, there were no significant differences in encounter outcomes between the maternal resident categories. There was clear defense of the shelter by maternal females, with virtually all fighting being in or around it, thus demonstrating stable, heightened territorial defense throughout these maternal phases of reproduction. This support of the offspring‐defense hypothesis of maternal territoriality is the first such evidence for a freshwater crustacean and is very similar to that recently reported in a related marine decapod, the American lobster (H. americanus). Aggr. Behav. 27:391–403, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Convergence of multiple sources of information on infant individuality: neonatal behavior,infant behavior,and temperament reports

To shed light on the notion of enduring individual infant characteristics, convergence of three presumably interrelated measures of infant individuality was examined. Data collected included standardized behavioral assessments of the newborn (NBAS), maternal reports of infant temperament (at 3 and 9 months), and naturalistic observations of infant behavior at 1, 3, and 9 months. Infant temperament reports were significantly stable from 3 to 9 months; observed infant fussiness was significantly stable from 1 to 3 and 3 to 9 months; observed altertness/social responsiveness was not stable over time. Analyses of convergence of neonatal and infant behavior revealed that 9-month infant alertness/social responsiveness was significantly correlated with neonatal habituation. Similar analyses of neonatal behavior and reported temperament revealed that 3-month reported dullness was significantly correlated with neonatal habituation and range of state. At 9 months, temperament ratings of infant fussiness and unpredictability were significantly correlated with autonomic stability; fussiness was also significantly correlated with regulation of state. Finally, no significant relationships were observed between reported temperament and observed infant behavior. These results fail to support a simple notion of enduring individuality in infants over their first year of life.