Differential infant mortality viewed from an evolutionary biological perspective

Evidence from family reconstitution studies suggests that variations in infant mortality may reflect differences in parental solicitude. For various proximate reasons that might originate from emotional, material or social interests, parents may be inclined to invest differently in the survival of their offspring. Evolutionary theory holds that the behavior-regulating mechanisms that cause differential parental care operate in a biologically functional manner. They obey the biological imperative of striving to propagate one's own genetic material in the gene pool of the population to the best possible degree, in view of prevailing socioecological constraints. From a Darwinian point of view, differential parental investment can be best understood as a socioecologically contingent tactical measure within an adaptive, i.e., genetic fitness enhancing strategy. Therefore, human reproductive decisions remain poorly understood unless their biological function in the Darwinian fitness competition is taken into consideration.