Abstract
In mammalian and avian species, it is essential that the young maintain at least periodic contact with their mother in order to obtain nurturance and warmth. This contact is ensured through the development of emotional dependency or attachment, as well as by the complementary distress reaction that occurs following sudden or forced separation of mother and infant. During the last several years, our laboratory has investigated this response as a way of evaluating how mother and infant primates cope with stressful situations. This research not only has generated new information on the nature of attachment processes in nonhuman primates but has also provided a unique way of determining how young organisms cope with stress. In addition to demonstrating that social relationships are important in the mediation of stress and coping, we have found that the concepts developed in the stress literature have a surprising degree of applicability to an understanding of the dynamics of mother-infant relationships.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Abbott, D. H., & Hearn, J. P. Physical, hormonal and behavioral aspects of sexual development in the marmoset monkey, Callithrix jacchus. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility, 1978, 53, 155–166.
Anderson, C. O., & Mason, W. A. Early experience and complexity of social organization in groups of young rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatto.). Journal of Comparative Physiology and Psychology, 1974, 87, 681–690.
Badia, P., Harsh, J., & Abbott, B. Choosing between predictable and unpredictable shock conditions: Data and theory. Psychological Bulletin, 1979, 86, 1107–1131.
Bowlby, J. Attachment and loss: Attachment. New York: Basic Books, 1969.
Coe, C. L., & Levine, S. Normal responses to mother-infant separation in nonhuman primates. In D. F. Klein & J. Rabkin (Eds.), Anxiety: New research and changing concepts. New York: Raven Press, 1981, pp. 155–177.
Coe, C. L., Mendoza, S. P., Smotherman, W. P., & Levine, S. Mother-infant attachment in the squirrel monkey: Adrenal response to separation. Behavioral Biology, 1978, 22, 256–263.
Dixson, A. F., Martin, R. D., Bonney, R. C., & Fleming, D. Reproductive biology of the owl monkey, Aotus frivirgatus griseimembra. In T. C. Anand Kumar (Ed.), Non-human primate models for study of human reproduction. Basel: Karger, 1980, pp. 61–68.
Dolhinow, P. An experimental study of mother loss in the Indian langur monkey (Presbytis entellus). Folia Primatologica, 1980, 33, 77–128.
Gliner, J. A. Predictable vs. unpredictable shock: Preference behavior and stomach ulceration. Physiology and Behavior, 1912, 9, 693–698.
Gluck, J. P. The intellectual consequences of early social restriction in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). In G. C. Ruppenthal & D. T. Reese (Eds.), Nursery care of nonhuman primates. New York: Plenum Press, 1979, pp. 253–268.
Gunnar, M. R., Gonzalez, C. A., Goodlin, B. L., & Levine, S. Behavioral and pituitary-adrenal responses during a prolonged separation period in infant rhesus macaques. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 1981, 6, 65–75.
Harlow, H. F. Age-mate or peer affectional systems. Advances in the Study of Behavior, 1969, 2, 333–383.
Harlow, H. F., & Harlow, M. K. Effects of various mother-infant relationships on rhesus monkey behaviors. In B. M. Foss (Ed.), Determinants of infant behaviour (Vol. 4). London: Methuen, 1969, pp. 15–36.
Harlow, H. F., & Zimmerman, R. R. Affectional responses in the infant monkey. Science, 1959, 130, 421–432.
Hennessy, J. W., & Levine, S. Stress, arousal and the pituitary-adrenal system: A psychoneuroendocrine hypothesis. In J. Sprague & A. Epstein (Eds.), Progress in psychobiology and physiological psychology (Vol. 8). New York: Academic Press, 1979, pp. 133–178.
Hennessy, M. B., & Kaplan, J. N. The effects of separation and novelty on the behavior and cortisol levels in surrogate-reared infant squirrel monkeys. Paper presented at the Developmental Psychobiology meetings, November 1981, New Orleans.
Hennessy, M. B., Kaplan, J. N., Mendoza, S. P., Lowe, E. L., & Levine, S. Separation distress and attachment in surrogate-reared squirrel monkeys. Physiology and Behavior, 1979, 23, 1017–1023.
Hill, S. D., McCormack, S. A., & Mason, W. A. Effects of artificial mothers and visual experience on adrenal responsiveness of infant monkeys. Developmental Psychobiology, 1973, 6, 421–429.
Hinde, R. A., & Spencer-Booth, Y. Effects of brief separation from mother on rhesus monkeys. Science, 1971, 173, 111–118.
Hinde, R. A., Leighton-Shapiro, M., & McGinnis, L. Effects of various types of separation experience on rhesus monkeys 5 months later. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 1978, 19, 199–211.
Hymowitz, N. Suppression of responding during signaled and unsignaled shock. Psychological Bulletin, 1979, 86, 175–190.
Jordan, T. C., Patterson, J., Coe, C. L., & Levine, S. Predictability and coping with separation in infant squirrel monkeys. Manuscript in preparation, 1983.
Kagan, J. Discrepancy, temperament and infant distress. In M. Lewis & L. A. Rosenblum (Eds.), The origins of fear. New York: Wiley, 1974, pp. 229–248.
Kaplan, J. Growth and development of infant squirrel monkeys during the first six months of life. In G. C. Ruppenthal & D.J. Reese (Eds.), Nursery care of nonhuman primates. New York: Plenum Press, 1979, pp. 153–164.
Kaufman, I. C., & Rosenblum, L. A. The reaction to separation in infant monkeys: Anaclitic depression and conservation withdrawal. Psychosomatic Medicine, 1967, 29, 648–675.
Lazarus, R. S. Psychological stress and the coping process. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1966.
Levine, S., Goe, C. L.: Smotherman, W. P., & Kaplan, J. N. Prolonged cortisol elevation in the infant squirrel monkey after reunion with mother. Physiology and Behavior, 1978, 20, 7–10.
Mason, J. W. A review of psychoendocrine research on the pituitary-adrenal cortical system. Psychosomatic Medicine, 1968, 30, 576–607.
Mason, W. A. Motivational factors in psychosocial development. In W. J. Arnold & M. M. Page (Eds.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, 1970. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1971, pp. 35–67.
McGinnis, L. M. Maternal separation studies in children and nonhuman primates. In R. W. Bell & W. P. Smotherman (Eds.), Maternal influences and early behavior. New York: Spectrum, 1980, pp. 311–336.
Mendoza, S. P., Lowe, E. L., & Levine, S. Social organization and social behavior in two subspecies of squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus). Folia Primatologica, 1978, 30, 126–144.
Mendoza, S. P., Smotherman, W. P., Miner, M. T., Kaplan, J. & Levine, S. Pituitary-adrenal response to separation in mother and infant squirrel monkeys. Developmental Psychobiology, 1978, 11, 169–175.
Mendoza, S. P., Coe, C. L., Smotherman, W. P., Kaplan, J., & Levine, S. Functional consequences of attachment: A comparison of two species. In R. W. Bell & W. P. Smotherman (Eds.), Maternal influences and early behavior, New York: Spectrum, 1980, pp. 235–252.
Miller, R. E., Caul, W. F., & Mirsky, I. A. Patterns of eating and drinking in socially-isolated rhesus monkeys. Physiology and Behavior, 1971, 7, 127–134.
Miller, R. E., Ranelli, C. J., & Levine, J. M. Nonverbal communication as an index of disturbance. In I. Hanin & E. Usdin (Eds.), Animal models in psychiatry and neurology. Oxford: Pergamon, 1977, pp. 171–180.
Mineka, S. Depression and helplessness in primates. In H. Fitzgerald, J. Mullins, & P. Gage (Eds.), Primate behavior and child nurturance (Vol. 3). New York: Plenum Press, 1981.
Mineka, S., & Suomi, S. J. Social separation in monkeys. Psychological Bulletin, 1978, 85, 1376–1400.
Mineka, S., Suomi, S. J., & DeLizio, R. Multiple separations in adolescent monkeys: An opponent-process interpretation. Journal of Experimental Psychology, General, 1981, 110, 56–85.
Nagle, G. A., Denari, J. H., Riarte, A., Quiroga, S., Zárate, R., Germino, N. I., Merlo, A., & Rosner, J. M. Endocrine and morphological aspects of the menstrual cycle in the cebus monkey (Cebus appela). In T. C. Anand Kumar (Ed.), Non-human primate models for study of human reproduction. Basel: Karger, 1980, pp. 69–81.
Napier, J. R., & Napier, P. H. A handbook of living primates. New York: Academic Press, 1967.
Natelson, B. H., Tapp, W. N., Adamus, J. E., Mittler, J. C., & Levin, B. E. Humoral indices of stress in rats. Physiology and Behavior, 1981, 26, 1049–1054.
Reite, M., Short, R., Kaufman, I. C., Stynes, A. J., & Pauley, J. D. Heart rate and body temperature in separated monkey infants. Biological Psychiatry, 1978, 13, 91–105.
Reite, M., Short, R., & Seiler, C. Physiological correlates of maternal separation in surrogate-reared infants: A study in altered attachment bonds. Developmental Psychobiology, 1978, 11, 427–435.
Robertson, J., & Robertson, J. Young children in brief separation: A fresh look. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, 1971, 26, 264–315.
Rose, R. M. Endocrine responses to stressful psychological events. Psychiatric Climcs of North America, 1980, 3, 251–275.
Rosenblum, L. A. Infant attachment in monkeys. In R. Schaffer, (Ed.), The origins of human social relations. New York: Academic Press, 1971, pp. 85–113. (a)
Rosenblum, L. A. The ontogeny of mother-infant relations in macaques. In H. Moltz (Ed.), The ontogeny of vertebrate behavior. New York: Academic Press, 1971, pp. 315–367. (b)
Rosenblum, L. A., & Kaufman, I. C. Variations in infant development and response to maternal loss in monkeys. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 1968, 38, 418–426.
Rosenblum, L. A., & Plimpton, E. H. Adaption to separation: The infant’s effort to cope with an altered environment. In M. Lewis & L. A. Rosenblum (Eds.), The uncommon child: Genesis of behavior (Vol. 3). New York: Plenum Press, 1981.
Rosenblum, L. A., & Youngstein, K. P. Developmental changes in compensatory dyadic response in mother and infant monkeys. In J. Lewis & L. A. Rosenblum (Eds.), The influence of the infant on its caregiver. New York: Wiley, 1974, pp. 141–161.
Ruppenthal, G. C., & Sackett, G. A. Experimental and husbandry procedures: Their impact on development. In G. C. Ruppenthal & G. A. Sackett (Eds.), Nursery care of nonhuman primates. New York: Plenum Press, 1979, pp. 269–287.
Sackett, G. A. Innate mechanisms, rearing conditions and a theory of early experience effects in primates. In M. R. Jones (Ed.), Miami Symposium on the Prediction of Behavior: Early Experience. Miami: Miami University Press, 1970, pp. 11–53.
Seay, B., Hansen, E., & Harlow, H. F. Mother-infant separation in monkeys. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 1962, 5, 123–132.
Seligman, M. E. P. Learned helplessness: On depression, development and death. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman, 1975.
Smotherman, W. P., Hunt, L. E., McGinnis, L. M., & Levine, S. Mother-infant separation in group-living rhesus macaques.: A hormonal analysis. Developmental Psychobiology, 1979, 12, 211–217.
Sroufe, L. A., Waters, E., & Matas, L. Contextual determinants of infant affective response. In M. Lewis & L. A. Rosenblum (Eds.), The origins of fear. New York: Wiley, 1974, pp. 49–72.
Suomi, S., Harlow, H., & Domek, C. Effect of repetitive infant-infant separation of young monkeys. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1970, 76, 161–172.
Vogt, J. L, & Levine, S. Response of mother-infant squirrel monkeys to separation and disturbance. Physiology and Behavior, 1980, 24, 829–832.
Vogt, J. L., Coe, C. L. & Levine, S. Behavioral and adrenocorticoid responsiveness of squirrel monkeys to a live snake: Is flight necessarily stressful? Behavioral and Neural Biology, 1981, 32, 391–405.
Wallen, K., Bielert, C., & Slimp, J. Foot clasp mounting in the prepubertal rhesus monkey: Social and hormonal influences. In S. Chevalier-Skolnikoff and F. E. Poirier (Eds.), Primate bio-social development. New York: Garland, 1977, pp. 439–462.
Weinberg, J., & Levine, S. Psychobiology of coping in animals: The effects of predictability. In S. Levine & H. Ursin (Eds.), Coping and health. New York: Plenum Press, 1980, pp. 39–59.
Weinraub, M., & Lewis, M. The determinants of children’s responses to separation. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 1977, 42, Serial No. 172.
Weiss, J. M. Effects of coping responses on stress. Journal of Comparative Physiology and Psychology, 1968, 65, 251–260.
Weiss, J. M. Somatic effects of predictable and unpredictable shock. Psychosomatic Medicine, 1970, 32, 397–408.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1983 Plenum Press, New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Coe, C.L., Wiener, S.G., Levine, S. (1983). Psychoendocrine Responses of Mother and Infant Monkeys to Disturbance and Separation. In: Rosenblum, L.A., Moltz, H. (eds) Symbiosis in Parent-Offspring Interactions. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-4565-7_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-4565-7_9
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-4567-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-4565-7
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive