<論文>狩猟採集民バカの幼児の愛着行動とマルチプル・ケアテーキング

Abstract

Bowlby's attachment theory holds that an infant must form an emotional bond with a primary caregiver in order to have normal emotional and social development. The issue of multiple caretaking in the community of Pygmy hunter-gatherers has given rise to controversy over this theory, which focuses on the mother-child relationship in western society, and necessitated a re-examination of the theory. This study aimed to ethnographically describe the attachment behavior of Baka infants and caretaking by their parents with people throughout the community and to characterize this attachment behavior. The analysis indicated that when the two-year-old Baka infants in this study felt fear, pain, or sickness they showed attachment behavior primarily to their mothers. On the other hand, when mothers returned after a separation or were busy with subsistence or household activities, the infants did not show distinctive attachment behaviors to their mothers, probably because of the presence of other people around them. There was always someone in close proximity to an infant who could provide substitute care properly and flexibly because subsistence activities, household activities, caretaking, and other necessities are all traditionally group activities in Baka society. Also, the two-year-old Baka infants often showed attachment behaviors to their multiple caregivers. Therefore, the attachments of those infants in particular should be seen as a sort of a network consisting of multiple attachment figures, not just the single mother-child relationship.