Severity of Early Separation and Later Abusive Mothering in Monkeys: What is the Pathogenic Threshold?

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Abstract
This study reports on a nonexperimentally induced case of infant abuse by a macaque mother living in a stable social group. The cast is of particular interest because of the early experience of the abusive mother: she had been abandoned right after birth by her biological mother, adopted and reared by an adoptive mother who provided adequate maternal care. The abusive mother alternated violent abuse and attentive maternal care and was shown to have a very possessive relationship with her infant. This study raises questions about etiology of primate infant abuse and supports the view that maternal anxiety may play a role in precipitating abuse.