Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Paternal Behavior”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,513 records · Page 84Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Family variables in substance-misusing male adolescents: the importance of maternal disorder.

Selected family variables, especially maternal behaviors, were studied as predictors of alcohol and drug misuse in severely disturbed adolescent boys from largely father-absent homes. The families of 50 male youths (mean age 15.8 years) in a residential center for alcohol and substance misuse were compared with the families of a community control group (mean age 16.3 years). Within-subject group comparisons also were made. Family structure, interactive processes, maternal and paternal alcohol and substance use, and criminality were assessed through direct interview and/or self-report. The families of alcohol- and substance-misusing boys were markedly disadvantaged or impaired on numerous family structure, process, and substance-misusing behavioral variables in comparison with community controls. Within the alcohol- and substance-misusing group itself, family process variables, maternal alcohol symptoms, and maternal criminality differentiated boys with more vs. less severe drug-dependence symptoms. Maternal alcohol problems and criminality were more important than family process variables. Paternal alcohol or substance misuse or criminality did not differentiate proband symptom severity. We concluded that maternal alcohol symptoms and criminality differentiate severity of drug dependence in severely disturbed, substance-misusing adolescent males from largely father-absent homes. Maternal substance misuse should be evaluated carefully in adolescent substance abuse treatment settings.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Behavioral indicators of ovarian phase in white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus).

In many primate species, conspicuous behavioral and/or morphological changes are indicators of the fertile phase of the female cycle. However, several primate species, such as the white-faced capuchin, lack these cues. This is referred to as "concealed ovulation," and is argued to be a reproductive strategy that confuses paternity and lowers the risk of infanticide. We studied 10 adult female white-faced capuchins in Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica, from January to June 2002. We determined their ovarian cycling patterns by analyzing fecal ovarian hormones, and compared simultaneously collected behavioral data to determine which, if any, cues females use to signal their fertile phases. We found that four females cycled during the study period but ceased to cycle without becoming pregnant. We considered several explanations for the lack of conception during our study, including reproductive seasonality. We found that female C. capucinus showed only small increases in rates of affiliative/proceptive behaviors directed toward adult males during their periovulatory phases. The best indicator of cycle phase was a significant increase in male affiliative behaviors (e.g., following and grooming bouts) and sexual behaviors (e.g., copulations and courtship displays) directed toward females during the periovulatory phase compared to the nonovulatory phase. Our finding that females exhibit little proceptive behavior, but that copulations and male courtship are nonetheless concentrated in periovulatory phases suggests that even though females do not provide behavioral and morphological cues to ovulation, males are still able to detect it. Infanticide occurs with some frequency in these monkeys, and there is evidence for postconceptive mating as a female strategy to lower risk of infanticide via paternity confusion. However, despite this occurrence of nonconceptive mating and the absence of female cues to ovulation, truly concealed ovulation does not appear to be characteristic of this study population of white-faced capuchins.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Paternal genetic effects on offspring fitness are context dependent within the extrapair mating system of a socially monogamous passerine.

Avian extrapair mating systems provide an interesting model to assess the role of genetic benefits in the evolution of female multiple mating behavior, as potentially confounding nongenetic benefits of extrapair mate choice are seen to be of minor importance. Genetic benefit models of extrapair mating behavior predict that females engage in extrapair copulations with males of higher genetic quality compared to their social mates, thereby improving offspring reproductive value. The most straightforward test of such good genes models of extrapair mating implies pairwise comparisons of maternal half-siblings raised in the same environment, which permits direct assessment of paternal genetic effects on offspring traits. But genetic benefits of mate choice may be difficult to detect. Furthermore, the extent of genetic benefits (in terms of increased offspring viability or fecundity) may depend on the environmental context such that the proposed differences between extrapair offspring (EPO) and within-pair offspring (WPO) only appear under comparatively poor environmental conditions. We tested the hypothesis that genetic benefits of female extrapair mate choice are context dependent by analyzing offspring fitness-related traits in the coal tit (Parus ater) in relation to seasonal variation in environmental conditions. Paternal genetic effects on offspring fitness were context dependent, as shown by a significant interaction effect of differential paternal genetic contribution and offspring hatching date. EPO showed a higher local recruitment probability than their maternal half-siblings if born comparatively late in the season (i.e., when overall performance had significantly declined), while WPO performed better early in the season. The same general pattern of context dependence was evident when using the number of grandchildren born to a cuckolding female via her female WPO or EPO progeny as the respective fitness measure. However, we were unable to demonstrate that cuckolding females obtained a general genetic fitness benefit from extrapair fertilizations in terms of offspring viability or fecundity. Thus, another type of benefit could be responsible for maintaining female extrapair mating preferences in the study population. Our results suggest that more than a single selective pressure may have shaped the evolution of female extrapair mating behavior in socially monogamous passerines.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Parenting stress and parental bonding.

Attachment experiences are thought to be important because of their implications for later development. The authors' aim with the questionnaire-based study was to investigate the differences between recalled parental bonding regarding 4 types of maternal and paternal bonding with respect to experienced parenting stress caused by child characteristics, parent attributes, and life events under the consideration of the child's gender and age. The authors gathered parental bonding behavior data with the German version of the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI). The authors assessed parenting stress with their German version of the "Parenting Stress Index (PSI)." They found significant differences among 120 mothers grouped in the 4 maternal and the 4 paternal bonding types regarding parenting stress caused by child, maternal bonding: F(5, 113) = 4.13, p = .002, paternal bonding: F(5, 111) = 8.50, p < or = .0001, and parent characteristics, maternal bonding: F(5, 113) = 3.33, p = .008, paternal bonding: F(5, 111) = 7.80, p < or = .0001. The lowest level of parenting stress was experienced by mothers who themselves recalled the "optimal parental bonding type" with respect to the child and parental domain. The authors did not find any significant differences between the 4 maternal, F(5, 113) = 1.25, p = .29, and the 4 paternal, F(5, 111) = 1.87, p = .106, bonding types with respect to the life stress. According to the authors' findings, the representation of attachment relationships seems to have a special impact on the adult's capacity to cope with challenges and stress, either directly or indirectly as an internal working model of attachment. For the clinical practice, these findings seem to recommend the combination of both the PSI and PBI regarding the diagnostic of stressful mother-child system to plan an optimal intervention program.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Increased body fat in mice with a targeted mutation of the paternally expressed imprinted gene Peg3.

Peg3 encodes a C2H2 type zinc finger protein that is implicated in a novel physiological pathway regulating core body temperature, feeding behavior, and obesity in mice. Peg3+/- mutant mice develop an excess of abdominal, subcutaneous, and intra-scapular fat, despite a lifetime of lower food intake than wild-type animals. However, they start life with reduced fat reserves and are slower to enter puberty. These mice maintain a lower core body temperature, fail to respond to a cold challenge, and have lower metabolic activity as measured by oxygen consumption. Plasma leptin levels are significantly higher than in wild types, and Peg3+/- mice appear to have developed leptin resistance. Administration of exogenous leptin resulted in a significant reduction in food intake in wild-type mice that was not observed in Peg3+/- mutants. This mutation, which is strongly expressed in hypothalamic tissue during development, has the capacity to regulate multiple events relating to energy homeostasis.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Insights into population ecology and sexual selection in snakes through the application of DNA-based genetic markers.

Hypervariable genetic markers have revolutionized studies of kinship, behavioral ecology, and population biology in vertebrate groups such as birds, but their use in snakes remains limited. To illustrate the value of such markers in snakes, we review studies that have used microsatellite DNA loci to analyze local population differentiation and parentage in snakes. Four ecologically distinct species of snakes all show evidence for differentiation at small spatial scales (2-15 km), but with substantial differences among species. This result highlights how genetic analysis can reveal hidden aspects of the natural history of difficult-to-observe taxa, and it raises important questions about the ecological factors that may contribute to restricted gene flow. A 3-year study of genetic parentage in marked populations of the northern water snake showed that (1) participation in mating aggregations was a poor predictor of genetic-based measures of reproductive success; (2) multiple paternity was high, yet there was no detectable fitness advantage to multiple mating by females; and (3) the opportunity for selection was far higher in males than in females due to a larger variance in male reproductive success, and yet this resulted in no detectable selection on morphological variation in males. Thus genetic markers have provided accurate measures of individual reproductive success in this species, an important step toward resolving the adaptive significance of key features including multiple paternity and reversed sexual size dimorphism. Overall these studies illustrate how genetic analyses of snakes provide previously unobtainable information of long-standing interest to behavioral ecologists.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Behavioral and hormonal correlates of alternative reproductive strategies in a polygynous lizard: tests of the relative plasticity and challenge hypotheses.

Species with alternative reproductive tacts are good models to investigate the poorly understood question of whether individual variation within sexes results from the same physiological mechanisms that control variation between sexes. We have shown previously that adult male tree lizards, Urosaurus ornatus, of different throat color morphs express different levels of aggression in the laboratory. Further field results support the suggestion that the two morphs practice alternative reproductive tactics because the two morphs express different levels of aggressive behavior under field conditions and exhibit dramatic and opposite responses to aggressive challenges. However, despite these behavioral differences, the two morphs do not differ in levels of testosterone or corticosterone either in undisturbed situations or following aggressive challenge. These results are consistent with the relative plasticity hypothesis which proposes that organizational, rather than activational, actions of steroid hormones will be more important in morph differentiation when morphs are fixed in adult life, as they are in tree lizards. These results also support the hypothesis that steroid hormonal levels are insensitive to social modulation in males of species such as U. ornatus without paternal care.

Aggression↗
PubMed2002

Chronic opiate exposure in the male rat adversely affects fertility.

We examined whether morphine administration to adult male rats adversely affected pregnancy outcome after mating with drug-naive females and at what point in the complex series of steps leading to viable offspring it exerted its actions. The results indicate that chronic paternal morphine exposure markedly influenced fertility measures in a number of important ways. There was a pronounced increase in pseudopregnancies in females mated with males treated chronically with morphine (40%) when compared to controls (<6%), indicating that vaginal penetration occurred, but successful impregnation failed; only 33% of matings between drug-naive females and morphine-treated males resulted in pregnancies, as compared to 74.5% in controls. In addition, there were fewer implantation sites in gravid females mated with morphine-treated males than in controls. Taken together, these observations suggest that morphine-exposed male rats were apparently able to copulate, but there was a failure in successful impregnation of the females. These findings suggest a primary defect in either the quality of male sexual behavior or a complete failure of the fertilization or conception processes in females mated with morphine-exposed males. This potentially important effect of paternal morphine administration on conception and/or preimplementation loss of embryos has not been previously noted and deserves more systematic study.

Analgesics, Opioid↗
PubMed2004

Limb deficiency defects, MSX1, and exposure to tobacco smoke.

There is increasing evidence from epidemiologic studies that genetic susceptibilities may modify the teratogenic effects of smoking. A previous study suggested that maternal smoking in the presence of a dinucleotide repeat polymorphism for MSX1 produced an almost fivefold increased risk for limb anomalies, providing evidence for a gene-environment interaction. The current study examined this potential interaction, using case-control data with several methodologic improvements, including a larger sample size and more detailed information on cigarette smoke exposures. Cases (n = 92) were ascertained from pregnancies ending in 1987-1989, and controls (n = 180) were randomly selected from eligible liveborn infants. In telephone interviews, women reported smoking behaviors during the month before pregnancy through the end of the first trimester. Odds ratios (OR) for maternal and paternal smoking ranged from 1.0 to 1.4, risk estimates were imprecise; for example, the OR for maternal smoking >or=20 cigarettes per day, versus none, was 1.3 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.5-3.4). Relative to the homozygous wildtype, the OR was 1.5 (95% CI 0.7-3.5) for the homozygous variant genotype and 0.8 (95% CI 0.5-1.4) for the heterozygous variant genotype. There was no evidence that maternal smoking or both parents smoking, in combination with a susceptible MSX1 genotype, conferred an additional increase in risk of limb defects. This study did not find a gene-environment interaction between maternal smoking, infant MSX1 CA repeat polymorphism, and risk of limb deficiency defects. This finding contrasts with results of a previous study, which provided initial evidence for such an interaction. Several important methodological differences may have contributed to the differences in findings between the two studies.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Increased plasticity of genomic imprinting of Dlk1 in brain is due to genetic and epigenetic factors.

The expression of six imprinted genes (Dlk1, Gt12, Igf2r, Kcnq1, Nnat, and Peg1) was examined in brains of 21 mice derived from N2 x N2 intercrosses between C57BL/6 and MOLF/Ei strains. Imprinting of Igf2r, Kcnq1, Gt12, and Dlk1 varied among individuals. As three of these genes are implicated in cell-cell signaling or cell-environment interactions, variation in their imprinting may influence a wide range of biological processes from cell differentiation to behavior. To elucidate the mechanisms underlying the interindividual imprinting variation in the brain, we focused our effort on the paternally expressed gene Dlk1. We investigated expression of Dlk1 in the brains of animals from N9 and N10 backcrosses and found that reactivation of the normally silent maternal Dlk1 allele in the N9 and N10 mice occurred less often than in N2 x N2 animals. Our data suggest that trans-acting genetic factors of MOLF/Ei origin facilitate the reactivation of the normally silent maternal allele of Dlk1. We mapped one of these factors to the proximal part of Chr 7. The results of bisulfite sequencing methylation analysis show that reactivation of the maternal allele was also associated with hypermethylation of the intragenic differentially methylated region (IG DMR), which is the imprinting control region for the Dlk1-Gt12 domain. Thus, the imprinting status of Dlk1 in the brain depends upon trans-acting genetic influences and correlates with the methylation status of a specific subregion of the IG DMR.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Utilization of stored mRNA in Xenopus embryos and its replacement by newly synthesized transcripts: histone H1 synthesis using interspecies hybrids.

We studied H1 gene expression in hybrids of Xenopus laevis (female) x Xenopus borealis (male) and saw paternal H1 synthesis in mid-blastulae, which indicates that the H1 genes are active by this stage. The behavior of the maternal store of H1 histone mRNA was studied in androgenetic haploids. In which all stored mRNA is of the laevis type and all new transcripts are borealis. This showed that the initial activation of H1 synthesis occurs entirely by mobilizing maternal transcripts and that these are then unstable, disappearing in a few hours, by the early gastrula stage.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Self-reported parenting practices in Dominican and Puerto Rican mothers of young children.

Explored self-reported parenting in a Hispanic sample of mothers living in the mainland United States using a cultural framework. Participants were 130 immigrant or first-generation Dominican and Puerto Rican mothers with a child between the ages of 2 and 6 years. Mothers completed questionnaires related to their parenting behavior and also filled out a detailed demographic form and a measure of acculturation. Results suggested that both Dominican and Puerto Rican mothers engage in high levels of praise and physical affection and low levels of harsh, inconsistent, and punitive parenting behaviors. Dominican and Puerto Rican parenting was similar on measures of authoritarian and permissive parenting, but differences emerged on a measure of authoritative parenting and when parenting was considered at the more detailed level of individual behaviors. Parenting was related to several demographic characteristics, including father's education level and child age; more specifically, higher paternal education and younger age of the child were related to higher levels of authoritative parenting by mothers. Parenting and acculturation were generally not related. Discussion focused on a culturally sensitive interpretation of normative parenting among Dominican and Puerto Rican mothers.

Acculturation↗
PubMed1995

Anticipation and instability of IT-15 (CAG)n repeats in parent-offspring pairs with Huntington disease.

Huntington disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant degenerative disorder caused by an expanded and unstable trinucleotide repeat (CAG)n in a gene (IT-15) on chromosome 4. HD exhibits genetic anticipation--earlier onset in successive generations within a pedigree. From a population-based clinical sample, we ascertained parent-offspring pairs with expanded alleles, to examine the intergenerational behavior of the trinucleotide repeat and its relationship to anticipation. We find that the change in repeat length with paternal transmission is significantly correlated with the change in age at onset between the father and offspring. When expanded triplet repeats of affected parents are separated by median repeat length, we find that the longer paternal and maternal repeats are both more unstable on transmission. However, unlike in paternal transmission, in which longer expanded repeats display greater net expansion than do shorter expanded repeats, in maternal transmission there is no mean change in repeat length for either longer or shorter expanded repeats. We also confirmed the inverse relationship between repeat length and age at onset, the higher frequency of juvenile-onset cases arising from paternal transmission, anticipation as a phenomenon of paternal transmission, and greater expansion of the trinucleotide repeat with paternal transmission. Stepwise multiple regression indicates that, in addition to repeat length of offspring, age at onset of affected parent and sex of affected parent contribute significantly to the variance in age at onset of the offspring. Thus, in addition to triplet repeat length, other factors, which could act as environmental factors, genetic factors, or both, contribute to age at onset. Our data establish that further expansion of paternal repeats within the affected range provides a biological basis of anticipation in HD.

Age of Onset↗
PubMed2004

Sexual trajectories of abused and neglected youths.

The study objective was to examine whether childhood abuse or neglect is associated with the age of onset of puberty and sexual and romantic behavior. A cohort of children (the Children in the Community study) was randomly selected and studied prospectively from childhood to adulthood. A sample of 816 youths were interviewed in their homes at a mean age of 14, 16, and 22 years in 1983, from 1985 to 1986, and from 1991 to 1994. The outcome measures included age of menarche, signs of male puberty, first being in love, dating, sexual intercourse, and pregnancy reported by youths. Child abuse and neglect were measured by official records and youth reports. A history of two or more incidents of sexual abuse was significantly associated with early puberty and early pregnancy after gender, class, race, paternal absence, and mother's age at the birth of the study child were controlled statistically. Public education regarding risk for premature sexual behavior among youths who have experienced sexual abuse is warranted. Efforts to prevent teenage pregnancy should include monitoring and educating sexually abused children as they enter puberty.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

A cross cultural study of delinquency among West Indian boys.

Social and psychiatric findings among boys at an approved school in Jamaica are described. Parental deviance and other evidence of family disorganization are less prevalent than elsewhere. A third of the boys are admitted for personal aggression and give a history of a previous offence. These factors are associated with a benign non-psychiatric (50 per cent) or malignant psychopathic (20 per cent) personality disorder and characterised by pre-morbid data of head injury, conduct disorder and intellectual deficit. Psychoneurosis (30 per cent) is associated with late separation experiences. It is of interest that paternal deprivation and other factors are similarly distributed among personality disordered and neurotic delinquents in Jamaica. Socio-cultural aspects of delinquency are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Exploring participation: older people on discharge from hospital.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: User participation has been a widely researched and debated phenomenon in the formulation and implementation of health and social care policy and indeed wider public sector policy in the United Kingdom (UK), yet there remains a vast array of definitions of the term and great variety in the findings of empirical studies. The aim of this paper is to discuss the main findings of an empirical study in order to build upon existing evidence and interpretation relating to user participation in health and social care. METHOD: The study reported here was carried out in the UK and explored the extent to which older people were able and willing to assume an active role in the process of using health and social care. Hospital discharge and the period shortly afterwards was the process under investigation. This study used a multi-method approach incorporating both quantitative and qualitative approaches; data from 260 questionnaires and 30 interviews were included. FINDINGS: The majority of respondents felt that they had been involved in decisions regarding their discharge from hospital. All welcomed advice from professionals and some preferred service providers to make decisions on their behalf. DISCUSSION: Arnstein's ladder of citizen participation is drawn upon in analysing the findings and notions of 'partnership', 'relationship', 'communication' and 'paternalism' are discussed.

Aged↗