Synonyms
Definitions
Aunts, paternity Uncertainty, Kin caregiving, Matrilateral, Patrilateral, Asymmetric kin investment
Introduction
Despite being forgotten in research, maternal or paternal aunts are highly invested and play an essential role of an “adjunct mother,” thereby providing childcare, guidance, support, and affection to their nieces and nephews (Milardo 2009, p. xvi). The aunt-child relationship can be consanguineous or formed through marriage and therefore includes the sisters of a father (paternal aunts) or mother (maternal aunts) or the wives of father’s brothers (paternal aunts) or mother’s brothers (maternal aunts).
One of the most decisive factors in the degree of investment in nieces and nephews is a sense of solidarity or the relationship between parents and their siblings’ family, which can be further influenced by contextual factors listed here. For instance, higher “associational (frequency of contact between parents), consensual...
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Saxena, M. (2020). Aunt Care. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2262-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2262-1
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