Complexities in Research on Fathering: Illustrations from the Tufts Study of Young Fathers

Theory and research suggest that the transition to parenthood is a major life transition, and that adaptation to the parenting role is influenced by a complex set of factors, including the relationship with the child's mother, family of origin, and how the father is situated within sociocultural contexts. The father–]mother relationship is particularly important for men making the transition to fatherhood. This study examined patterns of fathering among young fathers (15–24 years) and investigated how fathers' relationships with the mothers of their young children (infants and toddlers) were related to fathering. In general, higher quality father–mother relationships were related to greater father involvement with children; when mothers were perceived as barriers to involved fathering fathers also had less accurate and adaptive parenting knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. Person-centered analyses revealed quite complex relations between father–mother relationships and father–child interaction. One pattern showed strong positive father–mother relationships associated with a disengaged pattern of father–child interaction, while another pattern showed sensitive and positive father–child engagement in the context of negative or distant father–mother relationships. Four patterns of association between fathering and mother–father relationships were demonstrated. Results highlight the complexity of understanding fathering and family relationships among young fathers.     

Occult HBV Infection May Be Transmitted through Close Contact and Manifest as an Overt Infection

The importance of transmission of occult HBV infection (OBI) via transfusion, organ transplantation and hemodialysis has been widely recognized. However, data regarding the transmission of OBI through close contact remain limited. In this study, serum samples were obtained from a child and his parents. The child had received the standard vaccination regimen at birth and produced protective antibody. Sera were tested for HBV serological markers. Nested PCR assays were used to detect HBV DNA and the amplicons were cloned and their sequences subjected to phylogenetic analysis. The results showed that both parents had occult infections while the child had an overt infection. Twelve, eleven and nine clones, from the father, mother and son, respectively, were sequenced. Serotypes adrq+, ayw1, ayw and ayr were found in the father and ayw1, adw2 and adwq+ in the mother; adrq+ was the only serotype in son. Genotype B, subgenotype C2 and a recombinant were identified in the father and genotype B, subgenotype C5 and three recombinants were found in the mother. Subgenotype C2 was the only genotype identified in the child. A phylogenetic tree showed that all of the child’s sequences and most of the father’s sequences clustered together. However, none of mother’s sequences clustered with those of the child. The surface gene from the child and his father had the same amino acid substitution pattern (T118K, T123N and G145A). We concluded that the father was the source of the son’s HBV infection, suggesting that occult HBV infection may be transmitted through close contact and manifest as an overt infection.     

Borna disease virus infection in two family clusters of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

A high rate of Borna disease virus (BDV) infection has been demonstrated in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Herein, we focused on BDV infection in two family clusters of patients with CFS: a father, mother, two sons and one daughter (family #1); and a father, mother, two daughters and one son (family #2). All members, except for the elder son in family #1 and the father and son in family #2, were diagnosed with CFS. The results supported that all the family members with CFS were infected with BDV, as evidenced by the presence of antibodies to viral p40, p24 and/or gp18 and BDV p24 RNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The healthy members, except for the father of family #2 who was positive for antibody to p24, were all negative by both assays. Follow-up studies in family #1 continued to reveal BDV antibodies and BDV RNA, except in the mother, who lost the RNA upon slight recovery from the disease.     

Circadian and Ultradian Time Patterns in Human Behavior: Part 2: Social Synchronisation During the Development of the Infant's Diurnal Activity-Rest Pattern

Individually developing patterns of activity-rest rhythms in infants and the influence of environmental factors in the tuning and synchronisation of parent-infant pairs have important implications for the health of both infant and parents. After discharge from the hospital newborn infants are exposed to patterned influences of maternal and environmental regularities of a family's daily life resulting in varying degrees of social synchronisation. Actigraphic monitoring was used in this longitudinal study to examine how activity patterns of the entire family agree or disagree with each other, and how the infant entrains to the environment. Activity data of 12 families (father, mother and infant) were continuously recorded using non-invasive Actiwatch units. Recordings of parental activity started at the beginning of the 37th week of gestation, and were continued in parallel with the infants' recordings in three series of 21 days each until four months after birth: 1st to 3rd week, 7th to 9th week and 13th to 15th week of life. Fast Fourier transformation and cross correlation techniques were used to determine frequencies of each family member and to quantify the synchronisation of activity between parents and infants. To elucidate differences in social synchronisation between human cultures, synchronisation of a Melanesian family was additionally compared. Results showed the existence of corresponding ultradian frequencies in the activity patterns of mother-infant pairs at 1, 2 and 4 months. Increases in the synchronisation of parental activity were found from prenatal to postnatal and for mother-infant pairs from the first to the second month. Synchronisation between mother and infant always exceeded that of father and infant. Transient mono-, bi- or polyphasic activity patterns emerged in the infants immediately after birth. Good correspondence of mother-infant activity patterns during the early postnatal period was correlated with a rapid development of an entrained daily pattern in the infant.     

Worker biting interactions and task performance in a swarm-founding eusocial wasp (Polybia occidentalis, Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

Workers in many insect societies interact via body contact withtheir nest mates, and social biting and other forms of contactmay play a general role in regulating task performance. HereI present evidence that social biting affects task performancewithout direct reproductive conflict in Polybia occidentalis,a swarm-founding eusocial wasp. Polybia occidentalis workersengaged in social biting with nest mates. Most workers thatwere active on the nest surface participated in biting interactions,but individuals differed significantly in their rates of biting and of being bitten. Rates of being bitten corresponded withnonreproductive task performance: more biting was directedat foragers than nonforagers, and foraging rates were correlatedwith rates of being bitten. Furthermore, some on-nest workersinitiated foraging activity immediately after they were bitten.Together these patterns suggest that social biting influencesforaging rates by increasing workers' probabilities of leavingthe nest. Variation in biting rates did not correspond withdifferences in reproductive physiology: highly active bitersand recipients did not differ in body size or in ovary development.In P. occidentalis and in other eusocial insects with largeworker forces, biting and other types of social contact amongworkers may regulate task performance independently of directreproductive competition.     

The importance of kinship and familiarity in social interactions between mice

We investigated a range of social interactions between mice which differed in their degree of relatedness and familiarity. Unfamiliar half siblings (sharing paternity only) differed significantly from unfamiliar non-siblings (sharing neither mother nor father) in their tendency to perform aggression-related interactions and in the amount of passive body contact they showed. Differences between half and full siblings in patterns of interaction appeared to be due to differing degrees of familiarity with companions. Kinship effects disappeared completely when animals were allowed to become familiar. We discuss the functional significance of the familiarity and kinship effects we found, including differences between the sexes in the types of interaction showing kinship effects. Differences between adult and juvenile mice are also briefly discussed.     

Family factors and somatic traits of newborns

The paper is focused on relationships between somatic traits of newborns and family factors. Data for 779 families and their offspirng born in hospitals of Bialystok and Zambrow were analyzed. Family factors were extracted based on a factor analysis of 23 family traits. Multiple regression analysis was used to find relationships between offspring traits and family factors. It has been found that the most important factor of the somatic development of the fetus is the body size of the mother and placenta weight (factor F5). The mother has a greater effect on the development of the child than the father does. Family culture (consciousness-F1) is an important factor during the prenatal devlopment, more important than socio-economic conditions of the family (F3). Also the effect of father's morbidity (factor F8) is relatively high, almost as high as the effect of mother's morbidity (factor F6), more important than the body build of the father (factor F7). Age of the parents and the number of earlier pregnancies (factor F2) have the lowest effect on somatic traits of newborns. Blood pressure of the mother (factor F4) has relatively little effect on the development of somatic traits in newborns. The traits most affected by family factors include frontal breadth, body weight, chest size, and hip breadth.     

Interactions between parents and infants,and infants-father separation in the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus)

The New World monkey,Callithrix jacchus, diversely from most Old World primates, shares infant care among all family members. This paper intends to describe a pattern of infant care in the common marmoset, and to verify if the infant-father separation induces a depression reaction, such as found in other separation studies. In Experiment 1, 11 families (mother, father, and twin newborn infants) ofCallithrix jacchus were observed from 1st to 36th days of infants' life. It was noted that infants were carried most of the time in the beginning of life, and that from the 4th day on this care came mostly from the father. In Experiment 2, nine families were divided in three separation groups (15, 30, and 45 days of infants' life). Each group had a control and two experimental families. Removal of the father was done for three days, beginning at the indicated infants' ages. Results showed that upon removal of the father, the mother assumes the infants' care, and no depression reaction appeared.     

Genetically Related Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 in Three Adults of a Family with No Identified Risk Factor for Intrafamilial Transmission

A small number of cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection have been reported in individuals with no identified risk factors for transmission. We report on the seroconversion of the 61-year-old mother and the subsequent finding of HIV seropositivity in the 66-year-old father of a 31-year-old AIDS patient. Extensive investigation failed to identify any risk factor for intrafamilial transmission. We conducted a genetic analysis and determined the amino acid signature patterns of the V3, V4, and V5 hypervariable domains and flanking regions in the HIV-1 gp120 env gene of 26 clones derived from proviral DNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of the members of the family. env sequences of the viruses isolated from the patients were compared with sequences of HIV-1 subtype B viruses from Europe and local field isolates. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the sequences of the viruses isolated from the patients were genetically related and formed an intrafamilial cluster of HIV-1 distinct from other subtype B viruses. Interindividual nucleotide variability in the C2-V3 and V4-C4-V5 domains ranged between 1.2 and 5.0% and between 2.2 and 7.5%, respectively, whereas divergence between HIV strains from the patients and control viral strains ranged from 6.6 to 29.3%. The amino acid signature patterns of viral clones from the three patients were closely related. In the C2-V3 region, two minor clones derived from the son’s virus showed less nucleotide divergence (mean, 3.5 and 3.9%) than did the clones derived from the viruses of both parents or the seven other predominant clones derived from the virus from the son (mean, 5.4%). The top of the V3 loop of the last two clones and of all viral clones from the parents exhibited an unusual GPGG sequence. This is the first report of genotypic relatedness of HIV-1 in three adults of the same family in the absence of identified risk factor for transmission between the members of the family. Our findings suggest that atypical transmission of HIV may occur.     

Playful interactions in family groups of the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus jacchus)

Play behaviour in six family groups of common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus jacchus) is described. Playful behaviour patterns comprised a distinct repertoire of behaviour and the patterns formed ordered sequences. The differences in the play of adults and offspring are described and analysed. Adult play was infrequent and most took the form of adult-offspring interactions; it contained fewer bouts of chasing and was less active, and adults elicited fewer bouts. No differences attributable to sex could be determined in the play of offspring and the only pattern that decreased with age was bouncing gait. Possible partner preferences were analysed, and it was found that marmoset twins showed an overall preference for playing with the twin. The vocalizations heard during bouts of play were recorded and analysed and their relationship to non-playful vocalization discussed; during bouts of play younger animals were found to vocalize to older animals. Marmoset play wrestling differed in form from aggressive wrestling, and patterns occurred during aggressive interactions which were not observed in play. The play of marmosets is discussed with regard to the socioecology of the species and compared to the play of other mammalian species.     

Aggressive behavior of the domesticated house musk shrew (Suncus murinus) in inter-male,inter-female and heterosexed interactions

A pair of the house musk shrews (Suncus murinus) was placed in an observation box and their interactive behavior was analyzed. The animals often engaged in alarm vocalization, tail biting, and body biting and wrestling, respectively, for the inter-male, inter-female and male-female pairs. Thus, for this species, the interactions were found to be basically aggressive. An analysis of the behavioral sequences suggested that the males have more diverse behavioral responses to other males than do the females. Males smaller in weight approached and escaped more frequently than the larger ones, whereas the weight had no effect on the female pairs. Inter-male interactions consisted mainly of approach (facing) and escape, inter-female interactions included alarm vocalization in addition to the inter-male behavioral patterns, and the main form of male-female interaction was the male's chasing the female.     

Presence of the father and parental experience have differentiated effects on pup development in Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus)

Conflicting data exist on the importance of the father and parental experience during development in rodents. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of these two variables on development in Mongolian gerbils. Forty pairs of males and females with a litter size of between 4 and 7 pups were used as subjects. Twenty couples had no experience in raising young. After the birth of their pups, four experimental groups were formed: (I) inexperienced mother and father; (II) inexperienced mother; (III) experienced mother and father and (IV) experienced mother. When the pups reached 10 days of age, pup and parental behavior was recorded in experimental sessions of 15 min on 11 consecutive days. Through the statistical analysis it was found that the presence of the father significantly increased the physical contact between pups and parents and that pups opened their eyes earlier in comparison to the groups without the father. On the other hand, parental experience had a significant influence on the behavior of the pups (locomotion inside and outside the nest, and self-grooming). The results of this study suggest that parental experience and the presence of the father have differentiated effects on development in Mongolian gerbils.     

Longitudinal observations of care and development of infant titi monkeys (Callicebus moloch)

The purpose of this study was to describe patterns of infant care and development in family groups of the monogamous titi (Callicebus moloch). Three infant titis were observed with their natal family groups over the first six months of life. Field observations of extensive male involvement with infants were confirmed. Adult males were clearly the infants' primary social companions, and infants spent more time in contact with adult males at all ages than with mothers or older siblings. However, mothers and siblings also carried infants at times and interacted with them in affiliative ways (e.g., grooming, nuzzling, play). Mothers often invited nursing, but otherwise it was infants who primarily initiated transfers between carriers and approaches to parents, reminding us that the infants' own activities and their effects on caregivers should not be overlooked in considerations of the patterns of infant care. This is particularly important for those species exhibiting extensive parental involvement by males. It is suggested that substantial male care of young titi infants leads to several important consequences for the infant's social development, including the development of a stronger attachment to the father than the mother.     

Weaned horses,especially females,still prefer their dam after five months of separation

Under natural conditions, foals stop nursing from their dam at approximately-9 months old, but their bond persists until 1.5–2.5 years of age. In contrast, in horse breeding, foals are generally artificially weaned and totally separated from their dam at 5–7 months. However, it is not known whether the bond between the dam and her foal is maintained after artificial weaning. The aim of this study was (1) to assess whether foals still recognise and prefer their dam over other familiar mares several months after weaning and (2) to evaluate whether the preference for the dam is more pronounced in fillies or colts. Fifteen fillies and 19 colts were weaned at the age of 7 months old (complete separation from the mother). At the age of one year (i.e., 5 months after the separation), they underwent a test evaluating their preference for their dam or a familiar mare from their natal group. Significantly more foals first approached their dam; they also sniffed and tended to look more often at her. This finding indicates that artificially weaned horses remember and still exhibit a preference for their dam, suggesting that the bond persists even after 5 months of separation. Moreover, fillies exhibited a stronger preference for both mares than colts: they looked at them more frequently, sniffed them for a longer duration and spent more time in proximity to both mares than colts. This suggests that fillies generally have an even stronger attachment to their dam as well as to other mares from their natal group. This study calls into question the practice of artificial weaning at 5–7 months of age.     

Family size and children's education in Matlab, Bangladesh

This study examines the relationship between family size and children's education in Bangladesh for two periods - 1982 with high fertility and 1996 with low fertility - using data from the Matlab Health and Demographic Surveillance System of the ICDDR,B: Centre for Health and Population Research. Children aged 8-17 years (27,448 in 1982 and 32,635 in 1996) were selected from households where the mother was aged 30-49 years and the father was the head of household. Children's education was measured in terms of completed years of schooling: at least class 1 (among 8-17 year olds), at least class 5 (among 12-17 year olds) and at least class 7 (among 15-17 year olds). After controlling for all variables in the multivariate analyses, level of children's education was not found to be associated with family size during the high fertility period. The family size-education relationship became negative during the low fertility period. In both periods children of educated mothers from wealthier households and those who lived close to primary/high schools had more education, but this socioeconomic difference reduced substantially over time. Boys had more education than girls during the high fertility period but this difference disappeared during the low fertility period. As birth rates fall and the proportion of children from small families increases an increase in children's education is to be expected.     

The Interaction of Child Care and Family Risk in Relation to Child Development at 24 and 36 Months

Family risk factors (psychosocial, socioeconomic, and sociocultural), child care characteristics (quality and hours in care), and the interactions of these variables were examined as predictors of behavior problems, prosocial behavior, and language skills in a longitudinal sample of 943 children (assessed at 24 and 36 months) enrolled in child care as infants. Family risk variables were the strongest predictors of all outcomes. Child care quality was a significant predictor of 36-month caregiver-reported social skills and 36-month language skills. Contrary to expectations, limited evidence was found to suggest child care experiences moderate the negative associations between family risk and child outcomes. Family risk interacted with child care quality in only 1 of the 5 analyses, and did not interact with child care quantity in any of the analyses. One interaction between family risk and child care was significant. Children from minority and single-parent families were rated as less prosocial by their mothers when in low-quality child care.     

Affiliative Behaviour and Conflictual Communication during Brief Family Therapy of Patients with Anorexia Nervosa

Objective

Although patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) present positive responses to family therapy, the key features of therapeutic changes still require identification. This study explores the role of conflictual communication and affiliative nonverbal behaviour in therapeutic change in brief strategic family therapy (BSFT) for AN patients.

Methods

Ten female AN patients and their parents were included in the sample and took part in a 6-month follow-up of BSFT. The durations of conflictual communication and of affiliative nonverbal behaviour estimated by eye contact were compared between the first and the last sessions of family-based treatment using nonparametric statistical tests.

Results

An increase of the Body Mass Index associated with an increase in the conflictual communication expressed during BSFT sessions were observed. Moreover, affiliative nonverbal behaviour expressed by the father and the patient decrease, after a BSFT follow-up, in conflictual situations only. By contrast, no significant difference was observed in affiliative nonverbal behaviour expressed by the mother.

Conclusion

The present study demonstrates that the impact of the BSFT differs between members of a family: the AN patient and the father have established a new form of emotional functioning with a decrease in emotional involvement. The study of the combination between verbal and nonverbal communication can represent an important step in the understanding of the mechanisms of therapeutic change.     

The relationship between skull morphology, biting performance and foraging mode in Kalahari lacertid lizards

Lizards are a diverse clade in which one radiation consists entirely of sit-and-wait foragers and another consists of wide foragers. Lizards utilizing these two foraging modes are known to differ in diet, but little is known about how feeding morphology relates to diet and/or foraging mode. This study tested the hypothesis that skull morphology and biting performance are related to diet preference, and consequently, coevolve with foraging mode. Four species of lacertid lizard were studied because they vary in foraging mode, their phylogenetic relationships are known and they are well studied ecologically. Using an 'ecomorphological' approach, skull morphology and biting performance were quantified and mapped on to the phylogeny for the species. The results indicate that sit-and-wait species have shorter, wider skulls than the wide foraging species, and that all are significantly different in overall head shape. The sit-and-wait species had similar values for biting performance; however, clear phylogenetic patterns of covariation were not present between sit-and-wait and wide foraging species for either biting performance or skull morphology. Thus, skull morphology and performance have little influence on diet and foraging mode in these species. Instead it is likely that other factors such as seasonal prey availability and/or life history strategy shape foraging mode decisions.  © 2004 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2004, 140 , 403–416.     

Social environment and reproduction in female pouched mice, Saccostomus campestris

Pouched mice were kept under controlled conditions of illumination (10D:14L) and temperature (22 +/- 2 degrees C). Age at vaginal opening, first oestrus and first conception did not differ significantly between juvenile females raised singly, in single-sex groups of 5, or with an adult male. After the introduction of a male, sterile cycles and/or matings before first conception were experienced by all females whether they were raised singly or in single-sex groups. Of 10 females raised with a male, 4 conceived at their first mating. Onset of puberty in juvenile females raised with an adult female was delayed, while in juvenile females raised with their families (mother, father and litter mates) only vaginal opening was delayed. However, when raised in family groups without the father, vaginal opening as well as first oestrus were delayed. Grouping of females after weaning, with or without a male, did not change the oestrous cycle pattern. Females in these groups cycled independently of each other and the females grouped with a male also mated and conceived independently of each other. Pregnancy was blocked in 7 of 8 females when the stud male was removed and a strange male was introduced. In females exposed to a succession of males, pregnancy was blocked up to 4 times.