Cm. Berman et al., RESPONSES OF FREE-RANGING RHESUS-MONKEYS TO A NATURAL FORM OF SOCIAL SEPARATION .1. PARALLELS WITH MOTHER-INFANT SEPARATION IN CAPTIVITY, Child development, 65(4), 1994, pp. 1028-1041
Observations of 23 free-ranging rhesus monkey infants on Cayo Santiago
, Puerto Rico, indicated that mothers' first postpartum estrous period
s were marked by large increases in the amount of time infants were se
parated from their mothers, by disturbances in mother-infant relations
hips, and by increases in infant distress behavior. When their mothers
resumed mating, most infants showed signs of agitation; a few briefly
showed indications of depression. Male infants responded to their mot
hers' resumption of mating by playing more, whereas females engaged in
less play and more allogrooming. The results suggest (a) that basic p
arallels exist between the behavioral responses of rhesus infants to t
heir mothers' resumption of mating in the field and to forcible separa
tion from their mothers in captivity and (b) that early separation exp
eriences may play a role in the normal development or manifestation of
sex differences in behavior.