Document Type
Thesis
Date of Degree Completion
Spring 2022
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Primate Behavior
Committee Chair
Lori Sheeran
Second Committee Member
Kara Gabriel
Third Committee Member
Jessica Vandeleest
Abstract
Attachment theory is well established in humans, and current research findings of the attachment relationship in humans include how an individual’s attachment style impacts their stress levels – including cortisol levels and function of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis. However, in non-human primates such as rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), though attachment behavior has been found, it has not been researched in as much detail as that of humans. In this study, adjective data from 52 infant rhesus macaques ages 2 and 3 months describing infant and maternal attitudes and the mother-infant relationship were analyzed. Secure, anxious, avoidant, and disorganized attachment styles were found at both months of infant age. All infants were securely attached at 2 months old, but all but 1 infant was avoidantly attached at 3 months old. Avoidant attachment at 3 months of infant age was found to have an impact on the infant’s HPA-axis function, in that infants with higher rates of avoidant attachment tended to have a lower percent suppression of endogenous cortisol by dexamethasone challenge. These findings help to extend the evolutionary history of attachment behavior further back along the phylogenetic tree while also suggesting a possible developmental pathway occurring within infant rhesus macaques that corresponds with the onset of weaning.
Recommended Citation
DeBruyn, Elizabeth, "Attachment Style and Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis Activity in Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta) Infants" (2022). All Master's Theses. 1773.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/1773