Perry Gretchen
Anthropology Department, University of Missouri, 1205 University Avenue, Suite 1110, University Place, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.
Hum Nat. 2017 Jun;28(2):219-230. doi: 10.1007/s12110-016-9282-7.
Humans have been called "cooperative breeders" because mothers rely heavily on alloparental assistance, and the grandmother life stage has been interpreted as an adaptation for alloparenting. Many studies indicate that women invest preferentially in their daughters' children, but little research has been conducted where patrilocal residence is normative. Bangladesh is such a place, but women nevertheless receive substantial alloparental investment from the matrilateral family, and child outcomes improve when maternal grandmothers are alloparents. To garner this support, women must maintain contact with their natal families. Here, the visiting behavior of 151 interviewed mothers was analyzed. Despite the challenges of patrilocality and purdah, almost all respondents visited their own mothers, and mothers-in-law were visited far less. This contrast persists in analyses controlling for proximity, respondent age, postmarital residence, family income, and marital status. These results affirm the importance women place on matrilateral ties, even under a countervailing ideology.
人类被称为“合作育幼者”，因为母亲们严重依赖异亲照料，而祖母这一生命阶段被解读为对异亲照料的一种适应。许多研究表明，女性会优先投资于女儿的子女，但在从夫居是常态的情况下，相关研究却很少。孟加拉国就是这样一个地方，但即便如此，女性仍从母系家族获得大量的异亲投资，并且当外祖母成为异亲照料者时，孩子的成长结果会更好。为了获得这种支持，女性必须与自己的娘家保持联系。在此，对151位受访母亲的探访行为进行了分析。尽管存在从夫居和深闺制度的挑战，但几乎所有受访者都去看望了自己的母亲，而看望婆婆的次数则少得多。在控制了距离、受访者年龄、婚后居住情况、家庭收入和婚姻状况的分析中，这种差异依然存在。这些结果证实了即便在一种相悖的意识形态下，女性对母系亲属关系的重视程度。
