title: Long-term effects of infant attachment organization on adult behavior and health in nursery-reared, captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).
abstract: This research traces the long-term effects on health, well-being, personality, and behavior of adult chimpanzees as a function of their attachment to a primary human caregiver assessed when they were 1 year of age. Of the 46 chimpanzees assessed at 1 year of age, we assessed health in 43 individuals, adult behavior in 20 individuals, and adult well-being and personality in 21 individuals. Attachment disorganization was found to be a significant predictor of stereotypic rocking in adult chimpanzees, F(1, 18) = 7.50, p = .013. For those subjects (N = 24) with a full 20 years (birth through age 20 years) of health data available, both rearing experience and disorganized attachment were significant predictors of upper respiratory infection frequency, F(2, 21) = 8.86, p = .002. Chimpanzees with disorganized attachment exhibited average subjective well-being as adults, whereas chimpanzees with organized strategies exhibited higher than average subjective well-being as adults. These results support the findings of human attachment research and are in line with attachment-based predictions for chimpanzees, such that the consequences of an early history of disorganized attachment may be adverse and long lasting.
authors: Georgia Institute of Technology.
authors: Andrea W
authors: AW
authors: Clay
authors: Yerkes National Primate Research Center.
authors: Mollie A
authors: MA
authors: Bloomsmith
authors: University of Portsmouth.
authors: Kim A
authors: KA
authors: Bard
authors: Georgia Institute of Technology.
authors: Terry L
authors: TL
authors: Maple
authors: Georgia Institute of Technology.
authors: Marcus J
authors: MJ
authors: Marr
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009769:Object Attachment; D002679:Pan troglodytes / Q000523:psychology*; D010551:Personality; D013239:Stereotyped Behavior