Bottlenose Dolphin Calf Initiated Pectoral Fin Contact Exchanges with Mother, Other Kin, and Non-Kin

For dolphins, the strongest bond documented is typically that between a mother and her pre-weaned offspring, but outside of the maternal relationship, our knowledge of calf behavior is limited. We examined how 23 bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) calves (11 females and 12 males from 9 matrilines) initiated pectoral fin contact (PFC) exchanges with their mothers and kin (n = 362) versus with non-kin (n = 950). Calves initiated PFC exchanges with preferred partners (primarily their mothers) over individuals who were simply available to them. For calves with mothers as their only kin available, there was a difference in how they shared PFC with non-kin adults versus non-kin young. A calf was twice as likely to initiate PFC with an adult (mother or adult non-kin) as with another young dolphin. Male and female calves were different in how they initiated PFC with kin and non-kin, which supports previous research that identified a sex difference in calf behavior. These results support the observation that kin and non-kin dolphins share PFC differently. It is also likely that kin (mothers and calves, siblings, etc.) use other forms of contact to share information and potentially develop their relationships. Understanding all types of tactile contact would facilitate a more detailed understanding of how touch might be used by dolphins when relationships are established and maintained.

Risk Factors for Sexual Assault of Heterosexual and Sexual Minority College Women

Though college women report high rates of sexual assault, less is known about how protective and risk factors are uniquely associated with assault among heterosexual and sexual minority women. As such, the current study examined protective factors (i.e., maternal relationship quality and religiosity) and risk factors (i.e., child sexual abuse, parent substance misuse, and risky behaviors) for coercive sexual assault and total sexual assault and whether they vary by sexual orientation among college women. Data were gathered in the 2013–2014 academic year at two large public universities in the United States, one in the Midwest and one in the Southeast. Data for the current study included 755 college women, 72 (9.5%) of whom identified as sexual minority. Bivariate results showed that heterosexual women reported greater maternal relationship quality and greater religiosity compared to sexual minority women, while sexual minority women reported more risky sexual behaviors and having experienced more coercive sexual assault than heterosexual women. Multivariate results revealed that child sexual abuse, parent drinking problems, maternal relationship quality, heavy drinking, hooking up, and risky sexual behaviors were significantly associated with total sexual assault. Significant correlates of coercive sexual assault included child sexual abuse, maternal relationship quality, hooking up, and risky sexual behaviors. The relationship between maternal relationship quality and total sexual assault varied by sexual orientation as did the relationship between hooking up and coercive sexual assault. These findings have implications for targeted interventions to improve prevention of sexual assault among heterosexual and sexual minority college women.

La relation mère-enfant dans la dramaturgie staëlienne

"The Relationship between Mother and Child in Staël’s Playwriting. The article aims to analyse the plays of Germaine de Staël Agar dans le désert, Geneviève de Brabant and La Sunamite, considered as serious dramas, brought together in the perspective of the maternal relationship. The maternal archetype follows the form of the mater dolorosa capable of the greatest sacrifices. The child is seen as being inseparable from the mother and is often an innocent victim of human sins. Passionate love as the essential coordinate of romanticism is replaced by maternal love and by the love of God. The plays have a clear moralizing value, but the pathos of declamation and the introspection, characteristic of romanticism, are well visible. Keywords: Germaine de Staël, theatre, maternal relationship, romanticism."

The cow–calf relationship: from maternal responsiveness to the maternal bond and the possibilities for fostering

The relationship between the cow and calf develops over time after birth. The behavioural mechanisms underlying its development are important and comparisons with other species may increase our understanding. In nature the cow will separate herself from the herd to give birth and then the cow–calf relationship will develop with the ability to recognise each other. While twinning levels are low in cows, they do rear their twin calves. If the calf is lost at or after birth the cow can be responsive towards other calves and in specific circumstances the cow can develop a maternal bond with an alien calf, i.e. foster. In this Research Reflection a distinction is made between the development of, on the one hand, maternal responsiveness (the tendency of the cow to care for a calf which occurs before birth) and, on the other hand, the development of the maternal–filial bond or relationship which is reciprocal, occurs after birth and is characterised by the ability to discriminate the mother's own calf from alien calves. These processes can overlap and the relationship between cow and calf in this ‘hider’ species is more plastic than in some other mammals. For example, a cow might form an attachment with an alien calf before she gives birth. After the cow has given birth the loss of her own calf may result in the state of maternal responsiveness being maintained, such that developing a maternal bond with one or several appropriate alien calves is possible. Viable fostering techniques are possible. If a maternal relationship to the mother's own calf has developed then fostering will be more difficult. If the cow's relationship with her own calf is not exclusive, and she is in a state of maternal responsiveness then fostering of calves of an appropriate age and status can be achieved.

Childhood Maltreatment Disrupts Brain-Mediated Pathways Between Adolescent Maternal Relationship Quality and Positive Adult Outcomes

The quality of early caregiving may partially shape brain structure and circuits involved in regulating emotions, including the frontal cortex, affecting vulnerability to the development of psychopathology and maladaptation. Given the profound impact of child maltreatment (CM) on psychological and neural development, we tested whether CM alters the pathways linking mother–adolescent relationship, frontal cortex, and adult outcomes. We used structural equation modeling to investigate whether CM history affected the association between mother–child relationship quality during early adolescence, frontal lobe volume in adulthood, and adult internalizing and externalizing symptomatology and competence. Participants from a longitudinal high-risk, low-income sample included 48 adults with a history of CM and 40 adults without such history ( M = 30.0 years). Results showed that greater frontal lobe volume predicted higher levels of adult adaptive functioning and fewer adult internalizing symptoms but showed no relation to adult externalizing symptoms. Frontal lobe volume significantly mediated the effect of adolescent maternal relationship quality on both adult internalizing symptoms and adult adaptive functioning, but only for individuals with no maltreatment history. Given the observed relationship between frontal lobe volume and healthy adult functioning across the full sample, it will be important to identify protective factors in maltreated individuals that foster frontal lobe development.