Alternatives to the grandmother hypothesis: a meta-analysis of the association between grandparental and grandchild survival in patrilineal populations

Human Nature • Vol/Iss. 22 • Published In • Pages: 201-222 •
By Strassmann, Beverly I., Garrard, Wendy M.

Abstract

Authors conduct a meta-analysis of 17 studies that tested for an association between grandparental survival and grandchild survival in patrilineal populations. Results show that the survival of the maternal grandparents is significantly related to the survival of the grandchild. The survival of the parternal grandparents is not associated with grandchild survival. The authors compare their results to previous hypotheses that relate grandparental and grandoffspring survival and find that there results are most in line with the Local Resource Competition Hypothesis.

Samples

Sample Used Coded Data Comment
OtherCombinationFrom Sear and Mace (2008), updated with published and unpublished studies from March 2011

Hypotheses (1)

HypothesisSupported
Survival of the maternal grandparents, rather than paternal grandparents, will be associated with grandchild survival (201).Supported
Documents and Hypotheses Filed By: Megan Farrer