Previous studies have proposed a model of sexual selection that dictates that along with female and male choice, parental choice constitutes a significant sexual selection force in our species. This article aims at examining whether this model can also account for the mating patterns typical of agricultural and pastoral societies. The hypotheses are supported by the results presented.

Apostolou examines the argument that most of human evolution occurred in an environment where individuals had limited opportunity to exercise choice. This argument derives from evidence indicating that among contemporary and ancestral postindustrial societies, mate choice is regulated by parents choosing their children's spouses. Results from the present study show that in an arranged marriage setting, there is still space for individuals to exercise choice in mates (through premarital and extramarital relationships, as well as rape). Apostolou discusses possible explanations for these findings, as well as their evolutionary significance.

The author performs tests of hypothesized relationships between arranged marriage and various forms of non-sanctioned mate choice. Overall, the author theorizes that where marriages are arranged, mate choice will be found in higher prevalence of premarital sex, extramarital sex, and rape. Most tests support these relationships in the hypothesized directions, suggesting that strict regulation of marriage provides parents with some, but far from complete control over the mate choice of their offspring.

This article explores the association between father-son relationships and bridewealth. Bridewealth becomes an instrument through which male parents impose their will on their male offspring. The hypotheses are supported by the results presented.

This article examines differences in parental preference of potential in-laws across cultures. Results suggest that parents look for traits that will benefit themselves and their kin and that gender and subsistence type affects the traits that parents deem most important.

This study examines bridewealth and brideservice using a theory that emphasizes the role of parental selection in arranged marriages. Bridewealth and brideprice are postulated to enable parents of the bride to screen their future son-in-law. Information presented is supported by a literature review; no formal testing. See Apostolou, M. (2007) for more analyses.

The researcher predicts a positive association between prevalence of homosexuality and agricultural and pastoral subsistence types, reasoning that higher frequency of arranged marriages among agropastoral societies will lessen negative selection pressure on genes which encode for non-exclusive heterosexual orientation. Findings appear to support the prediction.

In this study, the authors explore the presence of disagreement between parents and their children over choice in spouse as an extension of theories regarding the evolution of mate choice. In non-human animal studies, free mate choice is generally associated with higher fitness. Thus mate preferences, in humans and non-human animals, may have evolved to improve fitness in comparison to random mating. Arranged marriages might likewise reduce biological fitness if parents choose a different spouse than their children would choose. Using ethnographic data from 119 societies, the authors assess the degree to which parents and offspring disagree on mate choice. In about 85% of the cases examined, parents disagreed with offspring choice. The authors call for explicit research on fitness outcomes when disagreement occurs.

This study tests competing theories about whether it is men, women, or parents who benefit most from restricting female premarital sex (FPS) in a global sample of 128 non-industrial societies. The study found support for the idea that multiple parties benefit from restrictions on FPS -- specifically FPS is more restricted in societies intolerant of extramarital sex and where men transfer property to their children (male control), as well as where marriages are arranged by parents (parental control). They also found that major predictors of FPS appear to be paternity uncertainty and parent-offspring conflict. Furthermore, the study found that multiple factors such as social roles, rather than stereotyped sex roles, are a more useful approach in understanding FPS restrictions and these restrictions.

This study attempts to expand on the list of common customs employed to cope with childlessness in a marriage. Authors specifically examine the relationship between the presence of customs that help cope with childlessness and the severity of punishment for adultery. Results indicate a significant relationship between these two variables.