War and the Socialization of Children

This article presents two evolutionary models that may explain relationships between war, socialization, and other kinds of violence. One model derives from the perspective suggesting that reproductive strategy is contingent on environmental variation; the other model derives from a number of studies conducted by Carol and Melvin Ember. In this article, the authors focus particularly on the causes and consequences of low father salience. They spell out the assumptions of the two models and describe some new cross-cultural evidence on presumed causal connections not previously evaluated cross-culturally. Their findings largely question the assumption that low father salience, as measured by father sleeping distance, will be associated with wider mating efforts. They also find some inconsistencies in their own model that suggest how it needs to be revised.