GENEALOGICAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC INFLUENCES ON INFANT ABUSE AND NEGLECT IN GROUP-LIVING SOOTY MANGABEYS (CERCOCEBUS ATYS)

This study investigated the occurrence of infant abuse and neglect in a large population of group-living mangabeys over a period of almost 3 decades. The prevalence of infant abuse and neglect did not differ si gnificantly among the 9 families comprising the population, but within some families there was evidence of genealogical effects on infant ab use. Maternal inexperience and infant age were risk factors for neglec t but not for abuse. Whereas neglecting mothers neglected only 1 of th eir offspring, usually their first-born infant, abusive mothers abused several of their offspring, and risk of severe abuse increased with l ater births. Infant sex was not a risk factor for neglect or abuse. Th ese and other results concur with the findings of a previous investiga tion of infant abuse and neglect in a different primate species in ind icating that neglect and abuse are different phenomena and in emphasiz ing genealogical influences on infant abuse in primates. The investiga tion of biological, experimental, and social determinants of the spont aneous occurrence of infant abuse and neglect in relatively undisturbe d primate populations could significantly enhance our understanding of the etiology of child abuse and neglect in humans. (C) 1997 John Wile y & Sons, Inc.