Mammal infants cannot survive without being raised by others, so they remember and adore their parents (caregivers) and other people, forming ``attachments.'' Attachment formation is the basis of social skills and mental health after adulthood, but the mechanism of attachment formation and the mechanism of ``attachment disorder'' in which sufficient attachment cannot be formed have not been clarified.
An international research group from Tokyo Institute of Technology and Hokkaido University investigated the development of attachment by observing the common marmoset (hereinafter referred to as "marmoset"), a small primate that lives in families and cooperates in raising children, just like humans.
As a result, children who are separated from their families and left alone usually cry to call for family members, cling quickly to the family members who come to their aid, and stop crying, but their usual parenting style shows that they are less sensitive (i.e. They discovered that when faced with family members who ignore them (ignoring them) or families who are intolerant (refusing to continue carrying their children), children avoid being carried on their backs, or even when they are carried, they cry to express their anxiety. In other words, this suggests that children seek out family members who are sensitive (will help them when they are in trouble), and feel secure when they are supported by a tolerant family (who will patiently support them). In other words, she flexibly adjusts her attachment depending on her partner.
On the other hand, it was also revealed that baby marmosets that were raised by hand-rearing with limited interaction with their families were unable to adjust their attachment in this way. Even when a bottle-fed child is reunited with his or her family, the child avoids the family and spends his time alone regardless of who is feeding him, and on the other hand, even when he is old enough to be on his own, he cries, complains of anxiety, and continues to call for help. showed an attachment pattern. These results suggest that the ability to change one's attachment to each other and the ability to gradually become independent is acquired through interactions with one's family during childhood.
The results of this study revealed characteristics that are very similar to developmental psychological research on humans, and revealed that there are many similarities between the attachment behaviors of humans and marmosets. By using the marmoset as a model animal, it is hoped that it will provide clues to understanding the relationship between the development and independence of human children, and education and child-rearing.
Paper information:[Communications Biology] Anxious about rejection, avoidant of neglect: Infant marmosets tune their attachment based on individual caregiver's parenting style
