The Natural History of Child Signals of Need in Utila, Honduras: An Exploratory Study

Michael Gaffney

Washington State University

Ed Hagen

Washington State University

June 7, 2025

Human families are complex

Longer interbirth intervals and shorter periods of dependency

Shorter interbirth intervals and longer periods of dependency

Parent-offspring conflict

  • Intergenomic conflict (offspring demand genes vs. parental supply genes)
  • ESS: offspring demand > parental supply
  • Greater monogamy -> less demand

Bossan et al. (2013)

Offspring signals of need

  • Infant cries have been extensively studied
  • Older child signaling less studied
  • Other signals of need less studied

Study aims

  • Investigate three putative child signals of need – sadness, crying, tantrums – across a range of ages and socioeconomic statuses
  • Are signals associated with adversity and need?
  • Is parent-offspring conflict associated with costlier signals?
  • Do signals elicit investment?

Study populations

Utila, Honduras

Study population

Two subpopulations

  • English-speaking descendents of British immigrants who settled here in the 1800’s (small sample size)
  • Mainland Hondurans, many servicing the dive tourism industry and escaping violence

Study populations

Camponado: lower SES neighborhood of mostly recent immigrants from the mainland

Study populations

Caregivers (N=131), mostly moms, reporting on their children (N=236)

Outcome variables: Child signaling frequencies

Caregiver reports: About half signal infrequently (left), half frequently (right)

Composite outcome variables

  • Signaling frequency: \(sadness + crying + tantrums\)
  • Signaling cost: \(sadness + 2 \times crying + 3 \times tantrums\)

Explanatory vs. outcome variables

Explanatory vs. outcome variables

Explanatory vs. outcome variables

Lasso regression coefficients (quasi-Poisson)

Lasso regression coefficients (quasi-Poisson)

Signaling predictor effects

Conflict predictor effects

Peceived need associated with age and sadness

Ordinal logistic regressions

Investment associated with relative need

Ordinal logistic regression

Caregiver responses

Ordinal logistic regressions

Conclusions

Sadness, crying, and tantrums are

  • Frequent
  • Associated with adversity and need
  • More costly with greater conflict
  • Associated with increased investment

Consistent with the view that these are evolved signals of need

Questions?

Full author list: Michael R. Gaffney (0000-0002-7552-6942), Jessica K. Hlay (0000-0002-6139-5144), Izabel Rodríguez James, Kristen L. Syme (0000-0002-5601-8897), Steven A. Arnocky (0000-0003-3812-1871), Aaron D. Blackwell (000-0002-5871-9865), Carolyn R. Hodges-Simeon (0000-0002-0691-9080), and Edward H. Hagen (0000-0002-5758-9093)

Funding: National Science Foundation (Cultural Anthropology BCS-1945740/1945725 including an REG supplement) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grant (DG) (file # RGPIN-2019-05988).

References

Bossan, B., Hammerstein, P., & Koehncke, A. (2013). We were all young once: An intragenomic perspective on parent–offspring conflict. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 280(1754), 20122637.