Prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) are a socially monogamous species and both sexes are parental after the birth of pups. In contrast, sexually inexperienced adult prairie voles differ in their behavior towards pups such that virgin males are paternal whereas virgin females are often infanticidal. To test whether there exists a discrete perinatal 'sensitive period' during which gonadal hormon...

Although evolution has shaped human infant crying and the corresponding response from caregivers, there is marked variation in paternal involvement and caretaking behavior, highlighting the importance of understanding the neurobiology supporting optimal paternal responses to cries. We explored the neural response to infant cries in fathers of children aged 1-2, and its relationship with hormone...

In biparental mammals, the factors facilitating the onset of male parental behavior are not well understood. While hormonal changes in fathers may play a role, prior experience with pups has also been implicated. We evaluated effects of prior exposure to pups on paternal responsiveness in the biparental California mouse (Peromyscus californicus). We analyzed behavioral, neural, and corticostero...

Home observations during childhood and criminal records 30 years later are used to address questions of relative impact among features of child rearing influencing male criminal outcomes. The results suggest two mechanisms: Maternal behavior appears to influence juvenile delinquency and, through those eflects, adult criminali@. Paternal interaction with the family, however, appears to have a mo...

Data on frequency of church attendance have been obtained from separate cohorts of twins and their families from the USA and Australia (29,063 and 20,714 individuals from 5670 and 5615 families, respectively). The United States sample displayed considerably higher frequency of attendance at church services. Sources of family resemblance for this trait also differed between the Australian and US...

Existing studies of the consequences of paternal incarceration for children treat paternal incarceration as a dichotomous event (a child either experiences paternal incarceration or does not), although effects could accumulate with both the frequency and duration of paternal incarcerations. In this article I use register data on Danish children from birth cohort 1991, some of whom experienced p...