| Popis: |
The pace-of-life hypothesis suggests that individuals who grow up in a harsh or unpredictable environment will adjust their reproductive strategy, such that they start reproduction at a younger age and produce more offspring, involving an increased tendency towards risky behavior, a lowered self-control, a high number of desired offspring, and a low desired age of first reproduction. We test the hypothesis that a harsh and unpredictable childhood environment, specifically war and starvation, fosters a fast pace-of-life in a sample from Africa (N = 606), including students and teachers from eight different countries. More than one third of the subjects had experienced war or starvation in their past. The data show that both, war and starvation during childhood, predict an increased number of desired offspring, whereas only starvation predicts a decreased optimal age of first reproduction, an increased tendency to engage in risky behavior and a lowered self-control. The effects remain significant when controlled for the safety of the current environment, indicating that severe stress during early childhood plays a significant role with regard to the development of reproductive strategies in humans. |
