Crying and infant abuse in rhesus monkeys

This study investigated the relation between crying and infant abuse in gro up-living rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). The subjects were 10 abusive mot hers with their infants and 10 control mother-infant pairs. Abused infants cried more frequently than controls in the first 12 weeks of life, even whe n cries immediately following abuse were excluded from the analysis. The co os of 5 abused infants differed from those of 5 controls in several acousti c parameters, whereas their screams and geckers were acoustically similar, when recorded in the same context. Abusive mothers were less likely than co ntrol mothers to respond positively to the cries of their infants. Although infant cries may increase the probability of abuse being repeated, infant crying per se does not appear to be a major determinant of abuse.