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ZusammenfassungDieser Beitrag bildet den Abschluss unserer Serie über Kinästhetik Infant Handling. In den vergangenen zwölf Ausgaben der JuKiP hat unser Autoren- und Expertenteam Ihnen einen Überblick über das vielfältige Handlungsspektrum mit Kinästhetik in der Gesundheits- und Kinderkrankenpflege gegeben. Zusammenfassend könnte man sagen: Kinästhetik ist die gelebte Umsetzung salutogenetischen Denkens in der Pflegesituation.

Maternal protectiveness is negatively associated with infant handling in wild Japanese macaques

Infant handling by a non-mother is common in many primate species. Despite the requirement of a triadic relationship among handler, mother, and infant, previous studies of infant handling have focused on characteristics of handler or interactions between mother and handler. In this study, we examined the influence of the mother–infant relationship (i.e., maternal style) on the frequency with which wild Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata) infants were handled. We analysed behavioural data collected during 3 consecutive years and found that maternal style was characterised by three principal components: infant activity, rejection, and non-protectiveness. Infants who were less active and whose mothers were less protective received more frequent handling. These effects were particularly evident when handlers were thought to have less access to the infant. These complex interactions within the triadic relationship suggest that maternal style constrains the occurrence of infant handling in group-living primates.

Infant Handling Among Primates

Primates, particularly females, tend to be attracted to infants that are not their own and are often highly motivated to touch and handle them. However, species vary markedly in forms of handling and extents to which handling constitutes direct care (e.g., carrying and nursing), other affiliative behaviors, or aggression/ abuse. Here we review infant handling among primates from ultimate and proximate perspectives, focusing on a promising, but understudied hypothesized benefit—that handling enhances social bonds. We pay special attention to macaques and baboons, because infant handling in most of these species poses a special challenge in that it involves little actual care, and hence may be shaped by different and as yet unclear selective pressures from typical alloparental care. Costs, benefits, and hypothesized functions appear to vary across species based on: a) individuals’ roles (mother, handler, and infant), b) each of their characteristics, c) relationships between handlers and mothers, and d) the social context within the group. As a result, observed patterns of handling appear to be complex outcomes of the interaction of different, sometimes conflicting interests. The most promising hypotheses based on short/ medium term benefits appear to vary with breeding system, reproductive biology, socioecological factors, and life history characteristics. Explanations based on life history variables or long-term evolutionary processes related to cooperation appear to have broader applications, but nevertheless fail to explain infant handling in all its manifestations. We end by calling for more quantitative comparative and longitudinal research to further elucidate our understanding of this puzzling behavior.