MATERNAL ANXIETY IN RHESUS MACAQUES (MACACA-MULATTA) .2. EMOTIONAL BASES OF INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES IN MOTHERING STYLE

This study assessed the extent to which emotional reactivity to the so cial environment influences maternal behaviour in macaques. Visual mon itoring and scratching were used as behavioral indicators of maternal and social anxiety in small captive groups of rhesus macaques. Materna l visual monitoring of the infant and of other individuals proved bett er predictors of individual differences in maternal protectiveness tha n did characteristics of the mother-infant dyad such as maternal age, experience and dominance rank, number of immature offspring present in the group, or sex of the infant. Unlike visual monitoring, maternal s cratching was not linearly related to protectiveness. Mothers displayi ng low or high rates of scratching ranked low on protectiveness, and t he most protective mothers were those who displayed intermediate level s of scratching. Although individual differences in maternal and socia l anxiety seem to be mediated by maternal age and experience, they mig ht also be influenced by genetics and early experience.