Lethal coalitionary attacks of chimpanzees on gorillas in the wild

Lethal coalitionary attacks of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) on gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) in the wild. Lara M. Southern, Tobias Deschner & Simone Pika. Scientific Reports, July 19 2021. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-93829-x

[Popular version: https://www.mpg.de/17223684/0719-evan-lethal-attacks-by-chimpanzees-on-gorillas-observed-150495-x. Here, climate change shows up three times (also appears there as a keyword), while in the paper there is no occurence of climat*, warm*, or temperat*. Also, in the paper's 90+ references, the titles do not make mention of those three word stems.]

Abstract: Intraspecies violence, including lethal interactions, is a relatively common phenomenon in mammals. Contrarily, interspecies violence has mainly been investigated in the context of predation and received most research attention in carnivores. Here, we provide the first information of two lethal coalitionary attacks of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) on another hominid species, western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), that occur sympatrically in the Loango National Park in Gabon. In both events, the chimpanzees significantly outnumbered the gorillas and victims were infant gorillas. We discuss these observations in light of the two most widely accepted theoretical explanations for interspecific lethal violence, predation and competition, and combinations of the two-intraguild predation and interspecific killing. Given these events meet conditions proposed to trigger coalitional killing of neighbours in chimpanzees, we also discuss them in light of chimpanzees’ intraspecific interactions and territorial nature. Our findings may spur further research into the complexity of interspecies interactions. In addition, they may aid in combining field data from extant models with the Pliocene hominid fossil record to better understand behavioural adaptations and interspecific killing in the hominin lineage.

Discussion

Here, we report the first observations of two lethal coalitionary attacks of chimpanzees on another hominid species, gorillas. In both events, the chimpanzees considerably outnumbered the gorillas, however in the second event, the lethal attack started when the silverback had abandoned his group. In both events, the victims were gorilla infants, but the consumption of the victim was observed in one event only.

Recent studies59 were able to distinguish genetically distinct gorilla groups within the study area; when overlaid against the Rekambo chimpanzee community home range there was clear overlap with seven distinct gorilla groups (see Supplementary Fig. S1 in the Supplementary information). However, further data are needed to clarify whether our rare observations are due to lack of data or indeed mirror true frequencies of interspecies interactions in the study area.

In the following paragraphs, we will present and discuss several possible explanations that may account for the two lethal coalitionary encounters observed.

One explanation may be that the observed events represent cases of predation with the chimpanzees hunting and opportunistically targeting the smaller-bodied gorilla infants as prey. Although differences in behaviours accompanying hunting and hunting patrol patterns have been observed across sites, the behaviors observed at Loango were similar to the patterns reported for Taï41,60 and Ngogo38. For instance, the chimpanzees showed conspicuous behaviours prior to hunting such as being extremely attentive to any arboreal movements, scanning, changing directions several times without vocalizing, and performing specific call types—hunting calls38,45. Post-hunting behaviour is characterized by the prevalence of high-ranking males as the primary prey possessors and consumers, high levels of attention, arousal and excitement of party members, as well as begging and food sharing13,40,41,41,61. However, the behaviours observed during the two events were very different to those reported during hunting: The chimpanzees were noisy, emitted alarm barks and screams and performed displays long before the infants were killed. The excitement levels dropped immediately following the death of the infant gorillas. In addition, the observed feeding behaviours during the two events also differed from patterns expected during conventional hunting for the purpose of gaining nutritional benefits through the consumption of prey27. In the first encounter no feeding behaviour was observed, and in the second event the gorilla infant was almost entirely consumed by a single adult female. In contrast to species-typical hunts, in the second event the majority of individuals present, including adult males, showed almost no interest in the carcass, and only small amounts of meat were exchanged between low ranking individuals.

Another explanation may be that the two cases are the product of interspecific competition such as IGP and IK. So far, studies investigating interspecific competition in gorillas and chimpanzees have provided evidence for dietary niche differentiation and mutual avoidance to limit competition e.g.,62,63,64,65,66,67. All previous accounts of interspecies interactions as well as co-feeding events have been reported as peaceful despite a relatively high potential for feeding competition concerning key resources or during certain periods e.g.,68,69,70. Thus far, aggressive interference competition, including infanticide, has been observed between monkey species (e.g., Cercopithecus nicitans stampflii, Cercopithecus diana diana71; Ateles hybridus, Alouatta seniculus72) but not between chimpanzees and gorillas. Such interactions are however frequent in carnivore species and have been suggested as key determinants of their abundance and distribution33,73 (but see for an overview of other taxa31). As in the lethal interactions discussed here, carnivores tend to attack their closest dietary competitors31, most agonistic encounters occur in seasonal environments when food is scarce27, and killings decrease abruptly when dietary overlap is reduced73. Gorillas and chimpanzees show considerable dietary overlap and have a relatively high potential for dietary competition45,74. Across study communities, the degree of dietary overlap ranges between: 50% Kahuzi-Biega; Gorilla beringei graueri, Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii75 and 60–80% Loango, Lopé, and Ndoki; Gorilla g. gorilla, Pan t. troglodytes66,74,76. The two lethal encounters we observed occurred at times characterized by food scarcity and a period of high dietary overlap (for fruit resources)45,74—February and December 2019. In contrast, the two previously observed peaceful co-feeding events took place in April, a month characterized by relatively low dietary overlap between the two species45,74.

Furthermore, age, size and patterns of grouping seem to play a significant role in the outcome of IGP’s and IK’s (see e.g.,27). While relative body size of the opponents is the primary determinant of lethal interactions and results in favour of the larger species, in interactions involving adults, smaller species frequently kill the young of larger species27,73. There are cases where smaller species were able to kill or deter larger species such as wolves (Canis lupus) killing adult black bears (Ursus americanus)77 and hyenas (Crocuta Crocuta) killing lions (Panthera leo)27, however, these outcomes were only possible when individuals of the smaller species formed coalitions27,77. The grouping style of a species was found to strongly influence the outcome of IGP’s resulting largely in favour of species that form groups78. This is in line with our current observations, where the chimpanzees were at an advantage even against the larger gorilla species, given their ability to cooperate. Additionally, specific adaptations to prey-capture also influence the outcome of IGP’s, resulting in favour of species more adapted for vertebrate predation73 where the successful species, here, the chimpanzee, has adaptations to vertebrate predation13,39,41. Hence, as in IGP food webs (with specific emphasis of species classification) portrayed by Arim and Marquet79, the two reported killings may represent cases of IGP and IK between an intermediate omnivorous species (i.e. broad diets comprising both animal and plant foods80), the chimpanzee, and a herbivorous species (feeding mainly on plant foods81), the gorilla.

Lastly, both of the lethal encounters reported here also showed similarities to behaviours observed during chimpanzee intercommunity encounters. For instance, similar to territorial patrols, where chimpanzees move to the periphery and beyond their territorial boundaries to search for neighbours e.g.,11,13,82,83, the observed events took place in the peripheries of the territory before and during territorial patrols. In both events, infants were targeted and adult males were the main attackers and played the most active roles. Similarly, in lethal chimpanzee intercommunity encounters, infanticide is common and adult males are the main participants11,83,84,,83,84 (but see for female roles51). It has been proposed that in chimpanzees, adult males may kill infants of other communities to reduce competition for food by inducing foreign females to avoid contested regions84. The observed interspecies killings of gorilla infants by chimpanzees could have similar motivations85. We also observed behaviours before and during the encounters characteristic to coalitionary intercommunity encounters such as aggression (e.g., charges, chases, threatening displays, contact aggression), high levels of arousal and the use of loud vocalizations13,14,15,51. The imbalance-of-power hypothesis postulates that the function of unprovoked intercommunity aggression (such as deep incursions into other chimpanzee communities’ territory and coalitionary attacks) is a drive for dominance over neighbours resulting in fitness benefits for the attackers through improved access to resources such as food, females, or safety6,13. Two conditions are proposed to be required to trigger coalitional killing of neighbours: (i) a state of intergroup hostility, and (ii) sufficient imbalances of power between interacting parties resulting in impunity from aggressors. Thus, it may be possible that at Loango, which is characterized by relatively high dietary food overlap in specific months45,74, gorillas are perceived as competitors, for both space and resource use, similar to members of other chimpanzee communities. Lastly, we cannot rule out that the presence of human observers, in both events, may have had an effect on the unhabituated silverback’s departure and may have tilted the imbalance of power in favour of the habituated chimpanzees.

In sum, the observed events show similarities to patterns reported in IGP’s, IK’s and intraspecies agonistic encounters. Ultimately, additional observations in combination with isochronous assessments of fruit availability and dietary overlap are needed to differentiate whether coalitionary attacks are indeed the output of interspecific predation spurred by opportunistic hunting, interspecies competition for food resources or whether these interactions are merely a non-adaptive by-product of the “xenophobic nature” of chimpanzees. Finally, analyses of long-term phenological data could aid in investigating if potential high levels of feeding competition may be a more recent phenomenon caused by a collapse in fruit availability as observed in other tropical forests in Gabon86.

Women rated stronger men as more attractive than weaker men irrespective of the ecological condition, & had a relatively stronger preference for stronger men for short-term relationships in a resource scarce ecological condition

Women’s Preferences for Strong Men Under Perceived Harsh Versus Safe Ecological Conditions. Ray Garza, Farid Pazhoohi, Jennifer Byrd-Craven. Evolutionary Psychology, July 23, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1177/14747049211032351

Abstract: Ecological conditions provide information about available resources for one’s environment. In humans, this has been shown to influence reproductive behavior, as individuals may engage in trade-offs between partner quality and investment. For instance, many women may trade-off preferences for men with physical features indicative of social dominance and health over physical features indicative of commitment and investment. The current study explored women’s preferences for formidable men under safe vs. harsh ecological conditions. Across three studies, U.S. university women (N = 1,098) were randomly assigned to a perceived harsh or safe ecological condition. They were asked to rate the attractiveness of men’s body types (i.e., muscular vs. less muscular). Findings revealed that in general, women rated stronger men as more attractive than weaker men irrespective of the ecological condition. Evidence for preference as a function of ecology appeared only when a two-alternative forced-choice task was used (Study 3), but not in rating tasks (Studies 1 and 2). Study 3 showed that women had a relatively stronger preference for stronger men for short-term relationships in a resource scarce ecological condition. This research provides some evidence that perceived ecological conditions can drive women’s preferences for men with enhanced secondary sex characteristics as a function of mating context. These findings are consistent with previous research indicating the importance of physical characteristics in men’s attractiveness, and it adds to the existing literature on ecological factors and mating preferences.

Keywords: formidability, short-term mating, attractiveness, evolutionary psychology, ecology

General Discussion

Results of the current investigation provides evidence for women’s overall preferences for strong men. Across three studies, women were more likely to find stronger men more attractive than weaker men. However, manipulating mating context and ecological conditions were only effective when participants viewed men in pairs using an alternative forced-choice task (2afc) in Study 3, as opposed to viewing men sequentially, in Studies 1 and 2. This discrepancy provides empirical evidence supporting the argument that the judgements of attractiveness might differ according to study task (Jones & Jaeger, 2019), as Likert-type scale responses may be measuring something different compared to forced-choice measures (Bartlett et al., 1960). Accordingly, results of this research suggest that women consider differences in men’s attractiveness under a short and long-term mating contexts and perceived harsh ecology (i.e., resource scarcity), only when making comparisons to other men. This might imply that the priming effect to harsh ecology is small and imaginative resource scarcity do not induce prolonged effects influencing mate preference in women. Such effects might be more meaningful and conspicuous while measuring mate preferences as the result of exposure to an actual ongoing environmental harshness.

Women’s preferences for strong men has been supported by previous research (Braun & Bryan, 2006; Buunk & Dijkstra, 2005; Pazhoohi et al., 2019; Provost et al., 2006, 2008; Sell et al., 2017). Men with strong body types are more likely to be successful in intrasexual competitions (Puts, 2010), secure access to resources (Buss & Schmitt, 1993; Sell et al., 2017), and establish relationships with higher social status individuals (Lukaszewski et al., 2015). Additionally, strong body types are reflective of overcoming energetic demands to maintain strength and muscularity, and this may reflect putative good genes to women in mate choice (Sell et al., 2017).

Ecological conditions have been shown to be influential in women’s mate preferences, as women may trade-off indicators of investment for good genetics when in a safe versus harsh environments (Brooks et al., 2011; Dixson et al., 2017; Little et al., 2013; Reeve et al., 2019; Sacco et al., 2015). Overall, the effects of ecological conditions on ratings of attractiveness to men across mating conditions were only significant in Study 3 when an alternative forced-choice task was used. Women were more likely to select stronger men for a short-term relationship under a resource scarce environment. Preferences for masculine men have been shown to be related to ecological harshness (Little et al., 2007, 2013). Others have demonstrated that preferences for good-dad traits (i.e., parental investment, commitment) and not good-genes are associated with resource scarce environments (Lee & Zietsch, 2011). We did not find that women preferred stronger men under a violent ecological condition, as women preferred stronger men in a safe and violent ecology more than in a resource scarce ecology. Research has suggested that women can significantly gain from indirect and direct benefits in violent ecologies through protection and resource acquisition (Puts, 2010). Traits associated with masculinity are beneficial in male hierarchies, particularly in environments with income inequality (Brooks et al., 2011).

The current studies suggest that female mate choice favored strength in males, as women considered strong men more attractive than weak men (Study 1 and 2), and more so when they were presented in pairs (Study 3). These findings are in line with sexual strategies (Buss & Schmitt, 1993) and strategic pluralism theory (Gangestad & Simpson, 2000). Mating strategies are highly context dependent, and women may evaluate potential partners for short- or long-term relationships. Additionally, when provided with different ecological scenarios and presented with men in pairs, women may make trade-offs in the evaluation of potential mates. According to this view, women’s mate preferences are contingent upon prevailing environments, such as environments with increased pathogen prevalence or resource scarcity that would have been recurrent in ancestral conditions. This suggests that women may trade off indicators of parental investment and good genetics contingent upon environmental conditions. For instance, in a resource scarce environment, women may prefer stronger men for long-term relationships due to their ability to acquire resources. In Study 3, we found that women preferred the opposite (i.e., masculine over good-dad traits) when considering men under a resource scarce ecology. Were resource scarcity to affect preferences, we would expect this to primarily apply to preferences for long-term, not short-term partners, therefore this finding may not prove robust to replication. It is possible that the current economic outlook (i.e., lockdowns, slow economic growth) during the pandemic may have made resource scarcity more salient in considering stronger men under different mating conditions. Indeed, the resource scarce condition was rated higher on emotional arousal, which warrants further investigation. Our findings are inconsistent with previous research where women considering masculine men in a safe ecology for short-term mating were rated as more attractive (Little et al., 2007, Marcinkowska et al., 2019), and depictions of violence influenced women’s preferences for masculine men (Little et al., 2013). Furthermore, our findings are in direct contrast to Lee and Zietsch (2011) who found that women preferred good-dad traits for a resource scarce environment. Moreover, in line with Snyder et al. (2011), violent manipulations did not affect women’s preferences for stronger men.

The discrepancy between our results and the previous research on facial preference may reflect differences in the way that women rate men’s facial compared to bodily traits. We suggest further research investigate the effect of women’s choice for men’s body form (in combination with and separate from faces) as a function of ecological environments. In our study, ecological vignettes and slides depicting safe and harsh ecologies were used. Although these methods have been effective in demonstrating ecological contingent responses in laboratory settings (Griskevicius et al., 2011; Hill et al., 2013; Little et al., 2007), they did not generate an effect when target stimuli were presented in a sequential format for attractiveness ratings (Studies 1 and 2). Our study also relied on a between-subjects design for mating strategy across ecological conditions. Previous studies (Al-Shawaf et al., 2019; Thomas & Stewart-Williams, 2018) have shown that ecological conditions can affect mating at the strategy level, such as using short- and long-term mating preferences as a within-subjects condition as opposed to a between-subjects condition. Future work may want to consider if women adjust their mating strategy preferences (short-term vs. long-term) when facing a harsh ecology. Furthermore, the reliance of a college-aged sample limits the generalizability of the findings. All women participants were in the age range of 18–20 attending a public state university and were mostly White, with the exception of Study 3 where the inclusion of a larger Hispanic population was used compared to Studies 1 and 2. Although participants did indicate that the ecological manipulations were considered violent, arousing, and influenced their likelihood of being a victim of a crime, they may not captured actual ecological harshness compared to populations living in harsh environments. In Study 2 & 3, the inclusion of an SES measure to capture childhood and adulthood resources availability was used to account for actual ecological harshness. Further, the lack of a control group could limit the interpretability of women in the safe condition. Safeness could have served as a prime to influence women’s mating psychology, and it was shown in Study 3 that women’s preferences for stronger men in a safe ecology was similar to a violent ecology. It is important to use a control group in future work to make more definitive conclusions on the comparison across ecological conditions. The study relied on women only, and the effects of perceived ecology may not reflect women’s mating psychology but human psychology in general. Future work would benefit from making comparisons to both men and women’s perceptions of men’s body types in order to make stronger conclusions on the role of perceived ecology on mate preferences. Finally, it is important to note that the ratings of attractiveness (Study 1 and 2) were at the low end of the spectrum (i.e., closer to unattractive). The results for these studies should be interpreted as differences in relative attractiveness and not an indication of the highest rating of attractiveness. Therefore, we suggest future research look at these effects using a control group examining difference in both men and women’s preferences for men’s body types across perceived ecology.

Conclusion

Men’s physical features connoting strength provides information relating to indirect (i.e., genetic) and direct (i.e., resource acquisition) benefits in mate preferences. Given these cues, women should be sensitive to these physical features and indicate preferences for them, and they should be influenced by their mating strategies and ecological cues. Consistent with the importance of physical cues in mate choice, women preferred strong over weak men, and their preferences for strong men were associated with ecological cues when using an alternative forced-choice task.

COVID-19 Lockdowns/shelter-in-place policies in 43 countries: These authors think that, following the implementation of SIP policies, excess mortality increased

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Policy Responses on Excess Mortality. Virat Agrawal, Jonathan H. Cantor, Neeraj Sood & Christopher M. Whaley. NBER Working Paper 28930, June 2021. DOI 10.3386/w28930

Abstract: As a way of slowing COVID-19 transmission, many countries and U.S. states implemented shelter-in-place (SIP) policies. However, the effects of SIP policies on public health are a priori ambiguous as they might have unintended adverse effects on health. The effect of SIP policies on COVID-19 transmission and physical mobility is mixed. To understand the net effects of SIP policies, we measure the change in excess deaths following the implementation of SIP policies in 43 countries and all U.S. states. We use an event study framework to quantify changes in the number of excess deaths after the implementation of a SIP policy. We find that following the implementation of SIP policies, excess mortality increases. The increase in excess mortality is statistically significant in the immediate weeks following SIP implementation for the international comparison only and occurs despite the fact that there was a decline in the number of excess deaths prior to the implementation of the policy. At the U.S. state-level, excess mortality increases in the immediate weeks following SIP introduction and then trends below zero following 20 weeks of SIP implementation. We failed to find that countries or U.S. states that implemented SIP policies earlier, and in which SIP policies had longer to operate, had lower excess deaths than countries/U.S. states that were slower to implement SIP policies. We also failed to observe differences in excess death trends before and after the implementation of SIP policies based on pre-SIP COVID-19 death rates.

Rolf Degen summarizing... There is a tragic tendency for romantic relationships to run out of steam in the long term, and psychological interventions have proved incapable of reversing the "loss of positives"

When the Loss of Positives feels Negative: Exploring the Loss of Positive Experiences in Committed Couples. Danielle M. Weber, Donald H. Baucom. Current Opinion in Psychology, July 22 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.07.015

Highlights

• Positive experiences in committed couples can decrease over time.

• Positives can decrease for various reasons, including increased external demands.

• Interventions from Cognitive-Behavioral Couple Therapy can enhance positives.

Abstract: Despite romantic relationships being characterized by high positives (e.g., enjoyable activities, positive feelings) early in commitment, many couples experience a loss of positives over time. However, interventions are typically not as effective at enhancing positives as they are at reducing negatives (e.g., hostile conflict). Thus, it is important to understand why positives decrease and how to use interventions to enhance positives optimally. In this article, we present how the field has evolved to (a) heighten focus on positives independent of negatives, (b) identify trajectories of positives over time, and (c) clarify major factors which predict loss of positives. From a Cognitive-Behavioral Couple Therapy perspective, we offer therapeutic strategies that may hold promise for enhancing positives in relationships.

Keywords: positives in relationshipscouplescouple interventionscognitive behavior therapy

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Against this optimistic abstract, I prefer Rolf Degen's take: There is a tragic tendency for romantic relationships to run out of steam in the long term, and psychological interventions have proved incapable of reversing the "loss of positives"

Princess culture is criticized for contributing to gender stereotypes & poor body esteem; but (at least) modern princess engagement was associated with lower adherence to norms of hegemonic masculinity & higher body esteem

Princess Power: Longitudinal Associations Between Engagement With Princess Culture in Preschool and Gender Stereotypical Behavior, Body Esteem, and Hegemonic Masculinity in Early Adolescence. Sarah M. Coyne, Jennifer Ruh Linder, McCall Booth, Savannah Keenan-Kroff, Jane E. Shawcroft, Chongming Yang. Child Development, July 20 2021. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13633

Abstract: Princess culture is criticized for contributing to gender stereotypes and poor body esteem, however, there is little longitudinal research examining these claims. This study examines associations between engagement with princess culture during early childhood and gender stereotypes, body esteem, and adherence to hegemonic masculinity in early adolescence. Participants included 307 children (51% female, Mage = 4.83 years, 87% White) who completed questionnaires at two time points, 5 years apart. The results indicated that early engagement with princess culture was not associated with later adherence to female gender stereotypes. However, princess engagement was associated with lower adherence to norms of hegemonic masculinity and higher body esteem. Socioeconomic status and gender moderated the results. Effect sizes were small to moderate. The changing nature of Disney princesses is discussed in the context of gender development across childhood.

Orgasms from clitoral stimulation seem to have a second-class quality for some women, although there is no evidence that these orgasms feel like less pleasureable

The Influence of Types of Stimulation and Attitudes to Clitoral Self-stimulation on Female Sexual and Orgasm Satisfaction: a Cross-sectional Study. Madita Hoy, Katharina van Stein, Bernhard Strauss & Katja Brenk-Franz. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, Jul 21 2021. https://rd.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13178-021-00618-2

Abstract

Introduction: Societal assumptions and individual myths that define vaginal penetration as normal sexuality can affect the sexual pleasure of varied sexual activities. Although women orgasm much more easily through direct clitoral stimulation than through vaginal intercourse, many couples desire the latter. The purpose of this study is to investigate how orgasms from different types of stimulation with a partner affect sexual satisfaction and orgasm satisfaction in cisgender women. Also, the attitude of women to stimulate their clitoris themselves to reach orgasm during sex with their partner will be included.

Methods: Two independent surveys (N = 388 and N = 555) were conducted online in 2016 and 2020.

Results: Regression analyses showed that orgasm consistency through sexual intercourse had a stronger influence on orgasm satisfaction and sexual satisfaction than orgasm consistency through oral sex, stimulation by the partner’s hand, or self-stimulation. Positive thoughts and feelings about self-stimulation of the clitoris during sex with the partner showed only little effect, but in some cases, they were even negatively related to the reported satisfaction.

Conclusions: The results indicate that the common misconception about sexuality, that it is normal for women to experience orgasms during penile-vaginal intercourse, influences the subjective evaluation of one’s own sexuality. Orgasms from clitoral stimulation seem to have a second-class quality for some women, although there is no evidence that these orgasms feel like less pleasureable.

Policy Implication: Rigid assumptions about what normal sexuality should look like should be publicly addressed and discussed in sex education classes.

How many parents regret having children and how it is linked to their personality and health: Two studies with national samples in Poland

Piotrowski K (2021) How many parents regret having children and how it is linked to their personality and health: Two studies with national samples in Poland. PLoS ONE 16(7): e0254163, Jul 21 2021. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254163

Abstract: Surveys conducted over the last few years on representative samples in the US and Germany suggest that the percentage of parents who regret having children is approximately 17–8%. In none of these studies did the researchers attempt a detailed examination of this group of parents from the perspective of their psychological functioning. In the present article, two studies based on large, national samples (N = 1175 and N = 1280), one of which was a representative sample of young Poles, are presented. The results obtained show that the percentage of parents who regret parenthood is higher in Poland than in the US or Germany, and that parents who regret having children are characterized by a higher level of adverse childhood experiences, have poorer psychological and somatic health, are more vulnerable to social evaluation, and experience strong parental identity crisis and parental burnout. Regretting parenthood also turns out to be associated with the parent’s financial situation and marital status, and with having children with special needs. The results indicate that regretting becoming a parent is an important social and psychological issue that should become an object of interest for researchers from various disciplines and for social policy authorities.

Discussion

As a result of a decrease in fertility in developed countries, governments have started to take various actions to increase the number of children born. The situation is no different in Poland, where the fertility rate is one of the lowest among the EU countries [42]. However, when pursuing the aim of increasing the number of children born, we often forget that parenthood is a difficult and stressful task, and that young people, who are those who most frequently become parents, sometimes fail to cope with this new reality successfully. In order to plan support for young parents skillfully, both at the level of national policy and in relation to individual support provided by specialists, it is necessary to conduct an initial diagnosis of the number of parents for whom the realization of the parental role poses serious problems. Among the difficulties that can be experienced by a person who has decided to have a child, one of the most serious is to arrive at the conclusion that it was a bad decision. Because one cannot withdraw from parenthood at one’s own request, and because regretting parenthood can lead to mental problems and negative attitudes towards children [18], this should be an area of particular interest for social researchers, including psychologists. Unfortunately, our knowledge about the prevalence of regretting parenthood and about its causes has, so far, been very limited. The studies presented here, based upon the analysis of two large Polish samples, one of which was a representative sample, aimed to fill this gap.

Earlier survey studies, conducted on an American [1] and a German [12] sample, estimated that the percentage of parents who claimed that if they could make a choice again they would not decide to have children was between 7 and 8%. However, the results obtained in Study 1 and Study 2 indicate that this percentage may be higher in Poland, perhaps even 50% higher. As a result, the predictions formulated in Hypothesis 1 can be considered to be only partially confirmed. In Study 2, the percentage of parents who regretted having children was slightly lower than in Study 1 (10.7% and 13.6%, respectively), but it is the result of Study 1 that needs to be treated as more trustworthy, because the first research sample was more representative; in the second sample, there was a slight overrepresentation of well-educated individuals and of those with a healthy financial situation, which could result in a lower percentage of people who regretted parenthood. The results obtained point to two issues. First of all, it seems that, regardless of the country in which the study is conducted, one can expect to find parents who think that having a child was a bad decision. Additionally, it turned out once again that the number of such people is so large that neither the individuals who shape social policy in a given country nor researchers can fail to recognize this issue. Secondly, in the Polish population, the percentage of people who regret parenthood is higher than in the other populations examined so far. The research methodology applied was very similar to that used in the German study, so that it seems that the measurement method could not have been responsible for these differences. Unlike Germany, Poland has one of the strictest anti-abortion regimes in Europe. Abortion can only be performed when the mother’s health or life are endangered, when a serious defect/disease in the foetus threatens its life or the life or health of the mother, or when the pregnancy is the result of crime. Consequently, in Germany there are over 100,000 abortions performed each year, whereas in Poland the number is around 1000 [43]. This may mean that in Poland, the number of people who become parents and who are not convinced that this decision is the right one is higher because of the lack of any other option. Another factor that distinguishes Poland from the other two countries mentioned earlier is the level of economic development. Both the German study and the studies presented in this article indicate that one of the factors that increases the probability of regretting parenthood is the poor financial situation of the family. Poland, despite making a gigantic leap over the last thirty years since the Communist dictatorship was overthrown, is still a country in which incomes (even when purchasing power parity is taken into account) are considerably lower than in Germany or in the US, which can result in a higher percentage of parents for whom having a child is too great a financial burden; this may have had an effect on the results obtained. In Study 1 only 32% of the parents surveyed said that they had no financial problems at all; in Study 2 it was 39%, which may indicate the scale of the problem. The obtained results are also in accordance with the recent studies suggesting that Polish parents are among the most at risk of parental burnout in Europe [40] which lead to the conclusion that further intercultural studies on regretting parenthood, conducted on national samples, need to be conducted, so that the factors indicated here (i.e. abortion law and economy) can be fully verified.

In the study, there were two demographic factors that seemed to lead to the greatest increase in the risk of regretting parenthood. The first was the aforementioned poor financial situation of the parents, while the second one was being a single parent. In the case of single parents (which pertains to both women and men), their evaluation of parenthood as something that should not have happened can result from the fact that some of them, after splitting up with the other parent, cannot count on sufficient support. We should also remember that one of the most frequent sources of regret among adults are decisions associated with romantic relationships, which has been observed by Dijkstra and Barelds [7]. The results of the present study suggest that regretting decisions from the romantic domain may also translate into a negative evaluation of becoming a parent, and that sometimes a parent starts to regret not only that s/he entered into a relationship with a given person, but also that s/he had a child with this individual.

Interesting, and in places even surprising, results were obtained concerning gender. Among women and men, the percentage of parents regretting having children was similar, which is in line with research conducted in Germany [12]. On the other hand, many differences were observed between men and women in the samples studied. Women experienced more depressive symptoms, anxiety, vegetative symptoms, but were also characterized by a more stable sense of parental identity. On the other hand, men were characterized by more intense traumatic experiences in childhood and stronger parental burnout and parental identity crisis. Thus, although the situation of women-mothers and men-fathers differs, this does not translate into visible differences in terms of their greater or lesser propensity to regret parenthood. This observation may imply that regretting parenthood among mothers and fathers has different causes, which is a very promising area for future research.

In terms of gender, the finding of stronger parental burnout among fathers in Study 2 is surprising. Previous research on parental burnout suggests that women experience this syndrome to a greater extent [25, 44], which was also observed in research previously conducted in Poland [40]. What distinguishes the parents who took part in Study 2 from other studies on parental burnout is their young age (women M = 26.00, men M = 26.30). In earlier studies, the samples of parents were usually older by about ten years. Therefore, it is reasonable to consider the possibility that among the youngest parents, in the period of emerging adulthood (aged 18–30), they may be the fathers who experience stronger parental burnout. This is an issue worth further analysis in the future.

Regardless of the fact that these particular demographic factors turned out to be connected with regretting parenthood, which remains in accord with the predictions formulated in Hypothesis 2, we would not be justified in claiming that regretting parenthood is typical of individuals in a poor financial situation or of divorced people. Despite the fact that a slightly higher percentage of parents who regretted parenthood could also be observed among the parents who had children with special needs, this difference was only 5%, which it is difficult to consider as a strong effect. Conversely, the results obtained clearly indicate that parents who regret parenthood come from all layers of society: they are present among the wealthy and the well-educated as well among the poor and those with only primary education, some of them have children with special needs and some of them do not, and some of them are married or in informal relationships and some of them do not have a partner. In line with the predictions included in Hypothesis 3, it seems that, to be able to obtain a good understanding of a parent who regrets having a child, it is necessary to refer to factors at the psychological level [see also 45].

The results of Study 1 justify a search in childhood for the conditionings of regretting parenthood. It turns out that parents who regret having children were more often raised in an environment characterized by violence and rejection. Such conditions in childhood lead to changes in the functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, increasing the frequency and intensity of stress experiences, and contributing to impairments in cognitive functions that underlie self-regulation and, in consequence, to psychopathology [46]. This accords with the results of Study 1, as we could observe that the parents who regretted having children also manifested more symptoms associated with anxiety or depression, or somatic symptoms. Transition to parenthood and raising children is a great burden for almost all parents, and successful adaptation to this role requires many resources [47]. In the case of individuals who have behind them a childhood marked by traumatic experiences and problems with mental and somatic health, the task of being a parent can be too burdensome, can offer few rewards, and can yield no satisfaction [48], and, as demonstrated by the results obtained, this can also lead to regretting the decision to become a parent.

In accord with the observations about adverse childhood experiences and mental health (Study 1) are the observations pertaining to differences between the compared groups in respect of perfectionistic concerns (Study 2), which makes it possible to bind the two studies together theoretically. Strong fear of external evaluation and of not meeting expectations, which turned out to be higher among the parents who regretted having a child, are usually also a consequence of a dysfunctional rearing environment [35, 49], and perfectionistic concerns themselves are an important predictor of psychopathology. The fact that parents who regret parenthood have greater sensibility to external evaluation accords with the observations made by Donath [14] that one of the factors that stands behind this phenomenon can be the social and cultural pressure to have children. Individuals who find it more difficult to resist this pressure can more often make the decision to become a parent under the influence of social norms and not personal needs, which can increase the risk of future regrets about making this decision.

The moment of becoming a parent marks the beginning of one of the most important processes in adulthood, namely forming a stable parental identity [29]. The development of parental identity is based on comparing one’s own experiences in the realization of the parental role with one’s expectations, needs, and values. A satisfactory course through this process leads to identification with the decisions one has made and to defining oneself through the prism of these decisions. In Study 2, it was observed, however, that the individuals who regretted having children experienced strong and marked parental identity diffusion. They identified with the role of a parent only to a low extent, and they also had a much weaker motivation to consider issues connected with parenthood and to search for deeper information about it. In this group of parents, we could observe doubts about how to realize the parental role and a conviction that parenthood does not fit them. Piotrowski [17] suggested that regretting parenthood can be the final effect of disturbances in the development of parental identity, although he did not provide conclusive proof of that. Nevertheless, the results of Study 2 seem to corroborate that this may be possible. In turn, Schrooyen, Beyers and Soenens [30] have suggested that disturbances in parental identity lead to parental burnout. This thesis has also been confirmed by the results we obtained. On the basis of the theoretical assumptions presented by Piotrowski [29] and Schrooyen, Beyers and Soenens [30], we can presume that difficulties in forming a stable parental identity after entering the parental role can be an introduction to parental burnout which, in turn, can lead to regrets about ever becoming a parent which makes it important to further study the relationships between these different forms of disturbances in parenting. There are many studies that have shown that chronic difficulties in forming a stable sense of identity are closely related to mental health issues [50], and that a sense of parental identity is no exception here [32]. Therefore, it seems that the situation of parents who regret having children is characterized by many difficulties of both a psychological and a social nature, and this needs to be taken into consideration in the process of developing preventive and supportive actions.

Limitations and recommendations for future studies.

Despite yielding a great deal of new information about the situation of parents who regret parenthood, the results obtained need to be looked at in the light of certain limitations of the research that was conducted. First of all, the method applied to measure regretting parenthood was relatively simple, and it did not provide an opportunity to capture differences in the level of this phenomenon. Using a more complete picture of parental regret is recommended in the future studies. The parents in the investigation had to take a stance on one of the two sides of the question, and could not specify to what extent they regretted parenthood, which, as demonstrated by the survey conducted in Germany [12], could be a source of interesting data. Secondly, the conclusions formulated in the present article are based on the cross-sectional approach and on a single measurement. Thus, they do not take into account changes that may appear in a parent’s perception of parenthood. In the future, it would be advisable to conduct a longitudinal study in order to evaluate the extent to which regretting parenthood is stable over time. The longitudinal design would also provide useful information about the direction of causality between mental health issues, parental identity, parental burnout and parental regrets. Thirdly, only self-description methods, pertaining solely to the parent her-/himself, were applied in the two studies. In future studies, it would be worth considering different sources of information about the parent (e.g. information provided by the person’s partner) to verify whether the person’s subjective sense of regretting parenthood is also connected with this person being perceived differently by other people. Fourthly, the study focused on the situation of the parent her-/himself, failing to include the relationship with the child. Since it has been demonstrated by East, Chien, and Barber [18] that regretting parenthood is associated with harsh parenting, in future studies a deeper analysis of how regretting parenthood influences the development of a child should be conducted. An analysis should also be undertaken into how the national regulations on abortion availability influence the percentage of parents who regret becoming parents, which requires broad, multicultural comparisons.

Among the limitations of the conducted research, the cause-and-effect relationships require particular commitment from the researchers. The relationships between perfectionism, identity, burnout, and parenting regret described above are based mainly on theoretical assumptions [17, 28, 30, 50]. As yet, there have been no longitudinal studies published of perfectionism and parental burnout and sense of parental identity, nor are there longitudinal data on parenting regret and the psychological characteristics examined in this study. Therefore, any assertions about potential causal relationships should be treated as hypotheses for future longitudinal studies. Increasing regret resulting from having children may affect parent functioning [18], and it is not precluded that it might also lead to an increase in parental burnout, identity crisis, and perfectionist concerns. Another area requiring in-depth longitudinal research is the relationship between childhood traumatic experiences and regretting parenthood. From the research presented here, we can only infer a correlation between these experiences, but the mechanism behind this link is still unknown. Given the limited research interest to date in the topic of regretting parenthood, it appears that this area of research may yet provide many breakthroughs.