7 groups of squirrel monkeys were observed to assess the effect of infants on social interactions and interanimal distances among adult members of their natal groups. Each group contained one or two infants, 5 to 7 months of age at the start of the study. Infants initiated affiliative and playful interactions with all adults, whereas adults directed few, mostly antagonistic, interactions toward infants. Following the removal of infants from groups, distances between adults decreased and adult affiliative interactions increased more than 100%. The results indicate that infants within the age-range examined can have a pervasive, primarily inhibitory, influence on adult social relationships.
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