The authors test the male Oedipus complex hypothesis with a prediction suggesting that the scale of kin-avoidance is related to "a phobic attitude towards incest" (129).

In this study, the authors analyze relationships between witchcraft accusations and the gender of the accused. They find that men are most often accused of witchcraft in their sample of 54 Bantu or Bantoid societies, and are particularly more likely to be accused of witchcraft by unrelated or blood-related individuals or in disputes over wealth or prestige. On the other hand, women are more likely to be accused of witchcraft in affinal relationships, particularly husbands and co-wives, and in situations related to fertility or relationships. Elderly women were also more likely to be accused of witchcraft than elderly men. The authors also examined outcomes of witchcraft accusations, finding that 81% of cases resulted in a negative outcome for the accused. They suggest that competition underlies accusations of witchcraft.

This article examines mother-in-law avoidance, theorizing it is "a device for distinguishing the son-in-law/mother-in-law relationship from the husband-wife relationship in societies where these relationships tend to be similar as far as their economic aspect is concerned” (71). The conditions that may give rise to economic interaction between son-in-law and mother-in-law, such as matrilocal residence, are also discussed.

This paper examines the behavior between close kin and affines of the opposite sex. The authors "point to certain differences between continental areas that are related to specific social factors, including the structure of descent groups and the nature of marriage arrangements."

This paper tests the proximity hypothesis (used by Murdock [1949]) which posits that residential propinquity will be associated with parent-in-law avoidance and kin terminology. Several operational hypotheses are tested but none are supported. The author suggests that this finding may cast doubt other hypotheses that underlie Murdock’s findings, such as the participation hypothesis.

This study re-examines patterns of cross-sex kin relationships using new ethnographic data. The author looks specifically at cross-sex kin relationship in relation to marriage rules.

This paper, the first cross-cultural study published in 1889 (reprinted here) asserts that tabulation and classification are important methodological tools to study anthropological subjects. The author investigates the development of institutions of marriage and descent, tabulating data on residence, descent, kinship terminology, wife capture, and exogamy.

Authors explore the relationship between privacy among newlywed couples and romantic love as a basis for marriage. Authors also consider the relationship between newlywed privacy and kin avoidence. Both associations are found to be statistically significant.

A study of the relationship between older women and their young female kin. Relationships between women's relationships with their mother-in-laws and subsistence contribution, residence, descent, and food preparation are examined. Findings offer significant support for patterns in the relationship between older women and younger female kin.

This article focuses on the cross-cultural data comparing the relationship between changes in status and availability of important roles, with an emphasis on women. Cultural and structural aspects of society are examined to discover their relationship to the position of women after their child-bearing years.