Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Parent and offspring strategies in the transition at adolescence

  • Published:
Human Nature Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Adolescence signifies a transition from the use of prereproductive to reproductive strategies in the life history of Homo sapiens. Insofar as human generations overlap, events at adolescence, surrounding the onset of puberty, offer a unique glimpse into human adaptation from the point of view of the changing strategies of both parents and offspring. The timing of puberty is an important life history trait that varies between species, but also between and within the sexes in human beings. The onset of puberty marks the beginning of the reproductive life, is affected by previous experience, and serves as a trigger for behavioral change. Surbey (1988, 1990) reported relationships between father absence, heightened levels of childhood stress, and early menarche and considered them within the context of human evolutionary history. Subsequently, similar findings have been reported in a number of human populations and have been interpreted from several evolutionary perspectives. This article discusses the extent to which these and related findings regarding alterations in the timing of human puberty reflect evolved parental or offspring strategies. It entails a consideration of the applicability of the concepts of phenotypic plasticity, nonadaptive genetic variation, and conditional and alternative reproductive strategies in describing the interwoven nature of strategies employed by parent and child in the transition at adolescence.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alexander, R. D. 1974 The Evolution of Social Behavior. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 5:325–383.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, J. L., and C. B. Crawford 1992 Modeling Costs and Benefits of Adolescent Weight Control as a Mechanism for Reproductive Suppression. Human Nature 3:299–334.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aw, E., and C. Y. Tye 1970 Age of Menarche of a Group of Singapore Girls. Human Biology 42:329–336.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barkow, J. H. 1984 The Distance between Genes and Culture. Journal of Anthropological Research 40:367–379.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belsky, J., L. Steinberg, and P. Draper 1991 Childhood Experience, Interpersonal Development, and Reproductive Strategy: An Evolutionary Theory of Socialization. Child Development 62:647–670.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bereczkei, T., and A. Csanaky 1996 Evolutionary Pathway of Child Development: Life Styles of Adolescents and Adults from Father-Absent Families. Human Nature 7:257–280.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burrell, R. J. W., M. J. R Healy, and J. M. Tanner 1961 Age at Menarche in South African Bantu Schoolgirls Living in the Transkei Reserve. Human Biology 33:250–261.

    Google Scholar 

  • Byrne, R. 1988 1,911 Best Things Anybody Ever Said. New York: Ballantine.

    Google Scholar 

  • Calow, P., and C. R. Townsend 1981 Resource Utilization in Growth. In Physiological Ecology: An Evolutionary Approach to Resource Use, C. R. Townsend and P. Calow, eds. Pp. 220–244. Sunderland, Massachusetts: Sinauer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, B. C., and J. R. Udry 1995 Stress and Age at menarche of Mothers and Daughters. Journal of Biosocial Science 27:127–134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carfagna, M., E. Figurelli, G. Matarese, and S. Matarese 1972 Menarcheal Age of Schoolgirls in the District of Naples, Italy, in 1969–70. Human Biology 44:117–125.

    Google Scholar 

  • Charlesworth, W. R. 1988 Resources and Resource Acquisition during Ontogeny. In Sociobiological Perspectives on Human Development, K. B. MacDonald, ed. Pp. 24–77. New York: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chisholm, J. 1993 Death, Hope, and Sex: Life History Theory and the Development of Reproductive Strategies. Current Anthropology 34:1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 1996 The Evolutionary Ecology of Attachment Organization. Human Nature 7:1–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cowgill, U. M. 1966 Season of Birth in Man: Contemporary Situation with Special Reference to Europe and the Southern Hemisphere. Ecology 47:614–623.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalton, K. 1969 The Menstrual Cycle. New York: Pantheon Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daly, M., and M. Wilson 1988 Homicide. New York: Aldine.

    Google Scholar 

  • Damon, A., S. T. Damon, R. B. Reed, and I. Valadian 1969 Age at Menarche of Mothers and Daughters, with a Note on Accuracy of Recall. Human Biology 41:161–175.

    Google Scholar 

  • Devereux, E. C., U. Bronfenbrenner, and R. R. Rodgers 1969 Childrearing in England and the United States: A Cross-National Comparison. Journal of Marriage and the Family 31:257–270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Draper, P., and J. Belsky 1990 Personality Development in Evolutionary Perspective. Journal of Personality 58:141–162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Draper, P., and H. Harpending 1982 Father Absence and Reproductive Strategy: An Evolutionary Perspective. Journal of Anthropological Research 38:255–273.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellison, P. T. 1990 Human Ovarian Function and Reproductive Ecology: New Hypotheses. American Anthropologist 92:933–952.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emlen, S. T. 1995 An Evolutionary Theory of the Family. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 92:8092–8099.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eveleth, P. B., and J. M. Tanner 1976 Worldwide Variation in Human Growth. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flinn, M. V. 1988a Household Composition and Female Reproductive Strategies. Paper presented at the Evolution and Human Behavior conference, April, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

  • 1988b Parent-Offspring Interactions in a Caribbean Village: Daughter Guarding. In Human Reproductive Behavior, L. Betzig, M. Mulder, and P. Turke, eds. Pp. 189–200. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frisch, R. E. 1983 Fatness, Menarche and Fertility. In Menarche: The Transition from Girl to Woman, S. Golub, ed. Pp. 5–20. Toronto: D. C. Health.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frisch, R. E., and J. W. McArthur 1974 Menstrual Cycles: Fatness as a Determinant of Minimum Weight for Height Necessary for Their Maintenance or Onset. Science 185:149–151.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graber, J. A., J. Brooks-Gunn, and M. P. Warren 1995 The Antecedents of Menarcheal Age: Heredity, Family Environment and Stressful Life Events. Child Development 66:346–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gross, M. R., and E. L. Charnov 1980 Alternative Male Life Histories in Bluegill Sunfish. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) 77:6937–6940.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hazan, C., and P. R. Shaver 1987 Romantic Love Conceptualized as an Attachment Process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 59:511–524.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, E. M., J. P. Young, and J. L. Nord 1994 Childhood Adversity, Attachment Security, and Adult Relationships: A Preliminary Study. Ethology and Sociobiology 15:323–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, J. P., G. N. Holmbeck, L. Marlow, T. M. Green, and M. E. Lynch 1985 Menarcheal Status and Parent-Child Relations in Families of Seventh-Grade Girls. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 14:301–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoogland, J. L. 1982 Prairie Dogs Avoid Extreme Inbreeding. Science 215:1639–1641.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howell, N. 1979 Demography of the Dobe !Kung. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • James, W. H. 1973 Age of Menarche, Family Size and Birth Order. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 116:292–293.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenicek, M., and A. Demirjian 1974 Age at Menarche in French Canadian Urban Girls. Annals of Human Biology 1:339–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnston, F. E. 1974 Control of the Age of Menarche. Human Biology 4:159–171.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jolly, A. 1985 The Evolution of Primate Behavior, second ed. New York: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kantero, R-L., and O. Widholm 1971 IV. Correlations of Menstrual Traits between Adolescent Girls and Their Mothers. Acta Obstetrica and Gynecologica Scandinavica (Supplement) 14:30–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, K., P. K. Smith, and A. Palermiti 1997 Conflict in Childhood and Reproductive Development. Evolution and Human Behavior 18:109–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Konner, M., and M. Shostak 1986 Adolescent Pregnancy and Childbearing: An Anthropological Perspective. In School-Age Pregnancy and Parenthood: Biosocial Dimensions, J. B. Lancaster and B. A. Hamburg, eds. Pp. 325–346. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lancaster, J. B. 1986 Human Adolescence and Reproduction: An Evolutionary Perspective. In School-Age Pregnancy and Parenthood: Biosocial Dimensions, J. B. Lancaster and B. A. Hamburg, eds. Pp. 17–37. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Landauer, T. K., and J. W. M. Whiting 1981 Correlates and Consequences of Stress in Infancy. In Handbook of Cross-Cultural Human Development, R. H. Munroe, R. L. Munroe, and B. R. Whiting, eds. Pp. 355–374. New York: Garland STPM Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • LeBoeuf, B. 1974 Male-Male Competition and Reproduction Success in Elephant Seals. American Zoologist 14:163–176.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, M. M. C., K. S. F. Chang, and M. M. C. Chan 1963 Sexual Maturation of Chinese Girls in Hong Kong. Pediatrics 32:389–398.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lidicker, W. Z. 1980 The Social Biology of the California Vole. Biologist 62:46–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindgren, G. 1976 Height, Weight and Menarche in Swedish Urban School Children in Relation to Socioeconomic and Regional Factors. Annals of Human Biology 3:510–528.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lunenfeld, F., Z. Kraiem, A. Eshkol, and I. Werner-Zodrow 1978 The Ovary Learns to Ovulate. Journal of Biosocial Science (Supplement) 5:43–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacArthur, R. H. 1962 Some Generalized Theorems of Natural Selection. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) 48:1893–1897.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maccoby, E. E. 1991 Different Reproductive Strategies in Males and Females. Child Development 62:676–681.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malina, R. M., and C. Chumlea 1977 Age at Menarche in Deaf Girls. Annals of Human Biology 4:485–488.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mekos, D., E. M. Hetherington, W. G. Clingempeel, and D. Reiss 1995 Psychosocial Influences on the Rate and Timing of Pubertal Development. Unpublished manuscript in the authors’ possession, University of North Carolina, Carolina Population Center, Chapel Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moffitt, T. E., A. Caspi, J. Belsky, and P. A. Silva 1992 Childhood Experience and the Onset of Menarche: A Test of a Sociobiological Hypothesis. Child Development 63:47–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Money, J. 1992 The Kaspar Hauser Syndrome of Psychosocial Dwarfism. Buffalo, New York: Prometheus Books

    Google Scholar 

  • Prader, A., J. M. Tanner, and G. A. von Harnack 1963 Catch-Up Growth Following Illness or Starvation: An Example of Developmental Canalization in Man. Journal of Pediatrics 62:646–659.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Presser, H. B. 1978 Age at Menarche, Socio-Sexual Behavior, and Fertility. Social Biology 25:94–101.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, D. F., and T. C. Dann 1967 Influences on Menarcheal Age in Girls in a Welsh College. British Journal of Preventive and Social Medicine 21:170–176.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robertson, E. B., M. L. Skinner, M. M. Love, G. H. Elder, R. D. Conger, J. S. Dubas, and A. C. Peterson 1992 The Pubertal Development Scale: A Rural and Suburban Comparison. Journal of Early Adolescence 12:174–186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schofeld, M. 1965 The Sexual Behaviour of Young People. London: Longmans.

    Google Scholar 

  • Short, R. V. 1976 The Evolution of Human Reproduction. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 195:3–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stearns, S. C. 1976 Life-History Tactics: A Review of the Ideas. Quarterly Review of Biology 51:3–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 1980 A New View of Life-History Evolution. Oikos 35:266–281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 1992 The Evolution of Life Histories. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stukovsky, R., J. A. Valsik, and M. Bulaistirbu 1967 Family Size and Menarcheal Age in Constanza, Romania. Human Biology 39:277–283.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sulloway, F. J. 1995 Birth Order and Evolutionary Psychology: A Meta-Analytic Overview. Psychological Inquiry 6:75–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Surbey, M. K. 1987a Anorexia Nervosa, Amenorrhea, and Adaptation. Ethology and Sociobiology 8(Supplement):47S-61S.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 1987b Family Composition and the Timing of Human Menarche. International Journal of Primatology 8:455. (Abstracts of the Annual Meeting of the International Primatological Society)

    Google Scholar 

  • 1988 The Timing of Human Menarche. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • 1990 Family Composition, Stress, and Human Menarche. In The Socioendocrinology of Primate Reproduction, T. E. Ziegler and F. B. Bercovitch, eds. Pp. 11–32. New York: Wiley-Liss.

    Google Scholar 

  • 1993 Predicting Environmental Correlates of Pubertal Timing from Darwinian Theory. Canadian Psychology 34:473. (Abstracts of the Annual Convention of the Canadian Psychological Association)

    Google Scholar 

  • 1996 Reflections on Parental and Offspring Strategies in the Transition at Adolescence. Paper presented at the eighth Human Behavior and Evolution Society meeting, June, Evanston, Illinois.

  • Tanner, J. M. 1962 Growth at Adolescence, second ed. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • 1973 Trend toward Earlier Menarche in London, Oslo, Copenhagen, The Netherlands and Hungary. Nature 243:95–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 1990 Foetus into Man: Physical Growth from Conception to Maturity, second ed. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thornhill, R. 1980 Rape in Panorpa Scorpionflies and a General Rape Hypothesis. Animal Behavior 28:52–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trivers, R. L. 1972 Parental Investment and Sexual Selection. In Sexual Selection and the Descent of Man 1871–1971, B. Campbell, ed. Pp. 136–179. Chicago: Aldine.

    Google Scholar 

  • 1974 Parent-Offspring Conflict. American Zoologist 14:247–262.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turke, P. W. 1988 Helpers at the Nest: Childcare Networks on Ifaluk. In Human Reproductive Behavior, L. Betzig, M. Mulder, and P. Turke, eds. Pp. 173–188. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Udry, J. R., and R. L. Cliquet 1982 A Cross-Cultural Examination of the Relationship between Ages at Menarche, Marriage and First Birth. Demography 19:53–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valsik, J. A. 1965 The Seasonal Rhythm of Menarche: A Review. Human Biology 37:5–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vandenbergh, J. G. 1969 Effect of the Presence of a Male on the Sexual Maturation of Female Mice. Endocrinology 81:345–356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vandenbergh, J. G., J. M. Whitsett, and J. R. Lombardi 1975 Partial Isolation of a Pheromone Accelerating Puberty in Female Mice. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility 43:515–523.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vitzthum, V. J. 1997 Flexibility and Paradox: The Nature of Adaptation in Human Reproduction. In The Evolving Female: A Life-History Perspective, M. E. Morbeck, A. G. Galloway, and A. L. Zihlmann, eds. Pp. 242–258. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vollman, R. F. 1966 The Length of the Premenstrual Phase by Age of Women. Excerpta Medica 133:1171–1175. (Proceedings of the Fifth World Congress on Fertility and Sterility)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wasser, S. K., and D. P. Barash 1983 Reproductive Suppression among Female Mammals: Implications for Biomedicine and Sexual Selection Theory. Quarterly Review of Biology 58:513–538.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weisfeld, G. E., and R. Billings 1988 Observations on Adolescence. In Sociobiological Perspectives on Human Development, K. B. MacDonald, ed. Pp. 207–233. New York: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whiting, J. W. M. 1965 Menarcheal Age and Infant Stress in Humans. In Sex and Behavior, F. A. Beach, ed. Pp. 221–233. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wierson, M., P. J. Long, and R. L. Forehand 1993 Toward a New Understanding of Early Menarche: The Role of Environmental Stress in Pubertal Timing. Adolescence 23:913–924.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, D. S. 1994 Adaptive Genetic Variation and Human Evolutionary Psychology. Ethology and Sociobiology 15:219–235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winick, M. 1981 Critical Periods in Body Development. In The Body Weight Regulatory Systems: Normal and Disturbed Mechanisms, L. P. Cioffi, W. P. T. James, and T. B. Van Itallie, eds. Pp. 229–236. New York: Raven Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wittenberger, J. F. 1979 A Model for Delayed Reproduction in Iteroparous Animals. American Naturalist 3:439–446.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wood, J. W. 1994 Dynamics of Human Reproduction. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zacharias, L., and R. J. Wurtman 1969 Blindness and Menarche. Obstetrics and Gynecology 33:603–608.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Mount Allison University, 49A York Street, E4L 1C7, Sackville, N.B., Canada

    Michele K. Surbey

Authors
  1. Michele K. Surbey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michele K. Surbey.

Additional information

Originally accepted as part of the special issue on Human Life Histories (Vol. 8, No. 4); publication postponed until this issue for reasons of space.

This article is based on a paper presented at the Human Behavior and Evolution Society meeting at Evanston, Illinois, in June 1996. I thank P. Keelan and three anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on the manuscript. This article was prepared with the support of a standard research grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Michele Surbey is an assistant professor at Mount Allison University where she teaches courses in evolutionary psychology. She continues to study environmental influences on pubertal timing from an adaptationist perspective and also conducts research on human mate selection and the evolution of self-deception.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Surbey, M.K. Parent and offspring strategies in the transition at adolescence. Hum Nat 9, 67–94 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-998-1012-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-998-1012-3

Key words

Search

Navigation