Peer-reviewed
Step- and genetic parent/offspring relationships in a Caribbean village
Ethnographic data from a rural Trinidadian village were examined to test for differences in step-and genetic parent/offspring relationships. The data indicated that when both step- and genetic offspring are co-resident in the same household, fathers interact more frequently and less agonistically with genetic offspring than they do with step-offspring. Contrary to predictions from attachment theory, two possible mechanisms for paternal attachment, duration of co-residence and co-residence at birth, are associated with lower rates of interaction, and higher rates of agonistic interaction with stepoffspring. The data also indicate gender differences in step- and genetic parent/ offspring relationships, higher rates of “fosterage” for stepoffspring, higher rates of emigration from the village for stepoffspring, and lower reproductive success for individuals raised by a stepparent
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