Humans engage in cooperative childcare, meaning that raising offspring is not solely the responsibility of the parents but also involves contributions from other members of the social group. Typically, the individuals who contribute the most to child-rearing tend to be closely related to the child and their presence has been shown to be associated with child survival in numerous traditional human societies. However, while much research has focused on the role of close kin, the influence of more distant relatives on child survival remains largely unexplored. 

In a recent study Lahdenperä et al. examined the influence of kin on child mortality rates in pre-industrial Finnish populations. Utilizing extensive genealogical records (n = 32,000 children, born between 1732 and 1879), the researchers analyzed the impact of 36 different types of relatives, including both immediate and extended family members, on the mortality risk of children under the age of 5 years.

The findings revealed complex associations between these relatives, which often depended on family’s socioeconomic status or the lineage (whether the relative was from mother’s or father’s side, i.e. maternal vs. paternal). The presence and greater number of several paternal relatives were associated with an increase in child mortality and many of these associations were seen among the wealthiest families, due to inheritance practices and shared resources. For example, greater number of paternal aunts and uncles significantly increased child mortality risk. Some other relatives decreased child mortality such as the mother, sister and maternal grandmother. The presence of the maternal grandmother was associated with a decrease in child mortality the most among poorer families, who probably needed the grandmother’s contribution more than the wealthy.

This research brings new insights into the importance of close and more distant kin and suggest that relatives can provide support or other resources but also compete for limited resources and care. While the nuclear family is common in modern developed countries like Finland, it has historically been an exception. Examining the benefits and costs of relatives' presence across different contexts helps illuminate the constraints and opportunities of nuclear family structures. Understanding how relatives influenced child mortality in historical settings provides insights into human family dynamics, cooperative breeding, and familial conflicts.

Read more: 
Lahdenperä M, Salonen M, Hiraoka T, Seltmann MW, Saramäki J, Lummaa V. 2025: Close and more distant relatives are associated with child mortality risk in historical FinlandEvolutionary Human Sciences 7, 2025, e5.

Other News

Our review of the contribution of human studies to evolutionary biology is out now in Proceedings of the Royal Society B:
http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/284/1866/20171164

Virpi was given the inaugural Phoenix Award from the Turku Finnish University Society on Friday in recognition of and encouragement for her consistently creative and internationally high-quality re

We had the pleasure of hosting Silke van Daalen from the University of Amsterdam for three weeks this September. Silke is a PhD student working with Hal Caswell on identifying individual stochasticity in life-history traits of long-lived populations with a mathematical modelling approach, and came to learn about our dataset and how she might be able to use it in her work. We wish her the best of luck with the rest of her PhD studies, and hope to see her again soon!

Another year, another project meeting! This time we stayed on the beautiful island of Seili, again with the lovely people from the Myanmar Timber Elephant Project, for a few days of talks, drinks, and sauna. Needless to say, there is plenty of interesting and exciting work underway - keep your eyes peeled for the results, coming soon (hopefully) to peer-reviewed journals near you!
 

John Loehr with his workgroup received EUR 225.000 grant from Kone Foundation in 2016 for their project Learning from the past: the effect of forced migration from Karelia on family life.
Karelia-project had their kick-off meeting at the University of Turku 19.4.2017. Intense discussions, good spirit and a lot of inspiration among the team!

Menikö luonnonvalinnalla jotain pieleen: Miksi nainen elää menopaussin jälkeen lähes saman mokoman vaikkei voi saada jälkeläisiä?

Virpi Lummaa

Our multidisciplinary research team is looking for a post-doctoral researcher for a three-year project investigating life history, social integration and the influence of kin in forced migrants in a 20th century Finnish population.

The project is an exciting opportunity to investigate the consequences of forced migration of over 400000 people during World War II from an evolutionary ecology and sociology viewpoint. These migrants encountered much the same traumas and faced similar prejudices and resentment that current migrants face today, making the study of this population particularly appropriate to gain insight into the present and future of current migrants.
 

John Loehr with his workgroup received EUR 225.000 grant from Kone Foundation in 2016 for their project Learning from the past: the effect of forced migration from Karelia on family life.

The plight of migrants has come to the forefront recently as masses of people have migrated to Europe seeking asylum from predicaments faced at home. Many people in Finland seem to have forgotten that over 400,000 Finnish people had to abandon their homes in Karelia as a result of World War II. In this cross-disciplinary project, directed by John Loehr, an ecological scientist, biologists, sociologists, historians and demographic researchers study how enforced migration has affected family relations, having children, and integration into the community.

Kimmo Pokkinen is a man behind the Finnish church book data which he has been collecting for years. He had a big day recently and there was a fair reason to serve some birthday cake for him at the university. Congratulations!

Carly, Verane, Simon, Kimmo, Virpi, Jenni, Samuli, Martin, Mirkka

The research group spent three intense days having a brilliant Project Meeting in Tampere, Finland in August 2016. The venue was the most beautiful place by the lake, surrounded by the pristine Finnish nature. A perfect venue for the best conference ever! Special thanks to our hosts Jenni and Esko.
Photos from the Project Meeting in Kesämaa, Finland, August 2016. Photos by Esko Pettay / Wild TechPhotos Oy.

Virpi Lummaa's Group: Project meeting in Finland, August 2016. Photo by Esko Pettay