Time patterns in parent‐child interactions in a trobriand village (Papua New Guinea)∗

Institut für Anthropologie, Abteilung Humanethologie/Chronobiologie, Medizinische Fakultät (Charité) der Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin, 10098 Berlin, Germany;

Abstract

In June and July 1992 parent‐infant interactions were analyzed among the inhabitants of Tauwema (Trobriand Islands), who represent a traditionally living society. Parent‐infant interactions were continuously registered over a period of 7 days in 4 families with infants of 1,2,5, and 11 months of age using a microefectronic actometer. Based on self‐demand feeding, a remarkable synchronization between infant's and mother's movements occurred during both day and night. Despite the fact that the father also slept near the baby in the night no father‐infant correlation was found. Among the children aged 5 and 11 months no nocturnal response of both parents’ and siblings’ movements relative to infant's activity was found. Power spectra revealed inter‐individual differences of the rhythmicity patterns of infants and mothers depending on the infant's age. E.g. there is a dominant ultradian frequency of about 8 hours in the activity of the 2‐month baby, in the 5‐month‐old infant the circadian frequency predominates.The mean sleep duration of the observed infants is between 9 and 12 hours per day. This is considerably less than the duration stated for infants in Western countries.

Notes

Institut für Anthropologie, Abteilung Humanethologie/Chronobiologie, Medizinische Fakultät (Charité) der Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin, 10098 Berlin, Germany;

Forschungsstelle für Humanethologie in der Max‐Planck‐Gesellschaft, 82346 Andechs, Germany.

This paper has been presented at the 9th meeting of the European Society for Chronobiology in Bath, Great Britain, September 16–19,1993.