Gender and Risk in a Matrifocal Caribbean Community: A View from Behavioral Ecology

Abstract

Matrifocality is a feature of Caribbean communities in which mothers and adult daughters often form the household core. I argue that daughter‐biased parental care underlies matrifocality. Parental investment (PI) theory predicts sex‐biased care, but factors promoting daughter preference are not always clearly specified. If sons are more likely than daughters to experience unpredictable hazards, then parents may bias their efforts toward daughters. In this study, I examine gender differences in rural Dominica and test PI predictions. Men were more likely to be poor and develop alcoholism and less likely to migrate or attend high school than women were. Educational outcomes showed a Trivers‐Willard effect: Boys from unfavorable family environments were less likely to receive secondary education than were other boys, but there was no association for girls. PI variables generally accounted for less variance in men's outcomes than women's, suggesting that unpredictable hazards for sons may promote daughter preference and matrifocality.