High parental investment in childhood is associated with increased mate value in adulthood
A1 Journal article (refereed)
Internal Authors/Editors
Publication Details
List of Authors: Jan Antfolk, Agneta Sjölund
Publisher: PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
Publication year: 2018
Journal: Personality and Individual Differences
Journal acronym: PERS INDIV DIFFER
Volume number: 127
Start page: 144
End page: 150
Number of pages: 7
ISSN: 0191-8869
Abstract
Stressors in the childhood environment, such as decreased parental investment (PI) regulate an individual's reproductive behaviors. The effect of these behaviors on fitness is partly determined by individual mate value (MV). We tested whether PI during childhood is associated to MV in adulthood. Adult men and women (N = 1244) reported received maternal and paternal investment, and also current MV. We found that high PI in childhood was associated with increased MV in adulthood. Additionally, there was a positive correlation between maternal and paternal investment and the association between paternal investment and MV was mediated through maternal investment. We conclude that PI, especially maternal investment, might influence MV in offspring.
Keywords
Life-history theory, Maternal investment, Mate value, Paternal investment, Sexual strategies