Primate Evidence on the Late Health Effects of Early Life Adversity

Gabriella Conti, Christopher Hansman (), James Heckman, Matthew F.X. Novak, Angela M. Ruggiero () and Stephen J. Suomi ()
Additional contact information
Christopher Hansman: Columbia University
Matthew F.X. Novak: NICHD
Angela M. Ruggiero: NICHD
Stephen J. Suomi: NICHD

No 6495, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper exploits a unique ongoing experiment to analyze the effects of early rearing conditions on physical and mental health in a sample of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). We analyze the health records of 231 monkeys which were randomly allocated at birth across three rearing conditions: Mother Rearing, Peer Rearing, and Surrogate Peer Rearing. We show that the lack of a secure attachment relationship in the early years engendered by adverse rearing conditions has detrimental long-term effects on health which are not compensated by a normal social environment later in life.

Keywords: maternal behavior; health; rhesus monkeys; social deprivation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 21 pages
Date: 2012-04
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (28)

Published - published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2012, 109(23): 8866-8871.

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Related works:
Working Paper: Primate Evidence on the Late Health Effects of Early Life Adversity (2012)
Working Paper: Primate Evidence on the Late Health Effects of Early Life Adversity (2012)
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