Consanguinity as a Major Predictor of Levels of Democracy: A Study of 70 Nations

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology • Vol/Iss. 44(2) • . • • Published In • Pages: 263–280 •
By Woodley, Michael A., Bell, Edward

Abstract

While it is widely accepted that there are a multitude of variables that contribute to a society’s level of democracy, the authors of this study argue that the prevalence of consanguinity is one that is often overlooked. Using a sample of 70 nations, they tested the relationship between consanguinity (defined as marriage and subsequent mating between second cousins or closer relatives) and level of democracy (defined by both the Polity IV scale and the EIU Index) and found a significant negative relationship. Similarly, when controlled for a host of different variables in multiple regression analysis, the significant relationship between consanguinity and level of democracy held true.

Samples

Sample Used Coded Data Comment
Polity IV Database
Consanguinity/endogamy resourcePublished by A. H. Bittles (2001)
EIU Index

Hypotheses (7)

HypothesisSupported
Consanguinity (marriage and subsequent mating between second cousins or closer relatives) is negatively correlated with level of democracy.Supported
Consanguinity is a significant predictor of the level of democracy present when controlled for covariates of democracy. OR Economic development factors do not affect the significance of the relationship between consanguinity and the level of democracy.Supported
Consanguinity is a significant predictor of the level of democracy present when controlled for economic development.Supported
Consanguinity is a significant predictor of the level of democracy present when controlled for human development.Supported
Consanguinity is a significant predictor of the level of democracy present when controlled for inequality.Supported
Consanguinity is a significant predictor of the level of democracy present when controlled for the size of the Muslim population.Supported
Consanguinity is a significant predictor of the level of democracy present when controlled for occupation by foreign power, median age, and pathogen index.Supported
Documents and Hypotheses Filed By: abbe.mccarter