Mother-Child Relationships During Pregnancy Among Bofi Foragers

NCT00342225 | Completed

• 2 other identifiers: 99990307303-CH-N073
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 2

Brief Summary

This study will examine changes in mother-child relationships when mothers are pregnant, because this period may involve conflicts between mothers and children. A widely held evolutionary theory postulates that because parents and offspring share only about 50 percent of their genes, conflicts occur and would most likely occur at times when parental investment decreases. Offspring benefit from obtaining maximal parental investment and may demand more investment than parents are willing to give at times, perhaps because the parent would better benefit from directing their energy to other pursuits, such as to other offspring or to work. This study will explore the following:

• How pregnant mothers treat their children, in terms of caregiving techniques;
• Whether mothers exhibit different caregiving patterns at different stages of pregnancy;
• Whether mother-child conflicts arise during pregnancy, and, if so, when during pregnancy they are most likely to occur; and;
• Whether offspring overtly resist changes in maternal behavior during pregnancy, and, if so, what behaviors children use to resist these changes. All pregnant Bofi forager women living in settlements near the villages of Ngotto, Poutem, Bambondji, and Grima (in the Central African Republic) who have one or more living offspring and have no serious health problems related to pregnancy may be eligible for this study. Bofi foragers are among the few remaining hunters and gatherers and, as such, offer an opportunity to examine child developmental theories that have been well studied among industrialized Euro-American cultures, but neglected cross-culturally. Furthermore, studies among contemporary hunter-gatherers provide insight into the evolutionary past of humans, as humans have lived as hunter-gatherers for about 99 percent of prehistory. Participating pregnant Bofi forager women will be interviewed for demographic information, family genealogy, fertility history, and parenting beliefs. The women and their children will be observed for 4 hours on two different days as they carry out their normal daily activities. Attention will be paid to the mother's investment in terms of direct care of the children, including behaviors such as holding, cleaning, comforting, grooming, and feeding children.

Conditions

Behavior

Keywords

Observation; Mothers; Description

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may not qualify if:

• All pregnant forager women living in settlements associated with the villages of Ouesso, Kobu, and Bomassa, who have one or more living offspring, and do no exhibit any serious health problems related to pregnancy will be asked to participate. Women will not be excluded based upon economic or social status, marital status, or spiritual beliefs.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD): lead

Study Sites (2)

Central African Republic

Ngotto, Central African Republic

Location

Republic of Condo

Sangha, Central African Republic

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Hewlett BS, Lamb ME, Shannon D, Leyendecker B, Scholmerich A. Culture and early infancy among central African foragers and farmers. Dev Psychol. 1998 Jul;34(4):653-61. doi: 10.1037//0012-1649.34.4.653.

  PMID: 9681257 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Behavior

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Sponsor Type: NIH

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 19, 2006
• First Posted: June 21, 2006
• Study Start: December 19, 2002
• Study Completion: December 21, 2006
• Last Updated: July 2, 2017

Record last verified: 2006-12-21

Locations

CE (2)