This article investigates determinants of the couvade; the authors reexamine some of their earlier findings and also consider Broude’s (1988) response to their previous studies. Exclusive mother-infant sleeping arrangements, matrilocal residence, and “protest masculinity” (a concept suggested by Broude) were all found to be associated with the couvade. Father-salience in infancy, also suggested by Broude, was only marginally associated.

This study explores ecological reasons that might explain why boys are mostly circumcised in tropical regions, particularly in Africa and the insular Pacific. The author postulates a long causal chain linking: 1) tropical climate to the growing of root and fruit crops; 2) the need to keep babies on mother's milk for as long as possible where the adult diet is lacking in protein; 3) a long post-partum sex taboo as a way to space births; 4) the practice of polygyny (and associated mother-child sleeping) in the face of a long sex taboo; 5) patrilocal residence; and 6) male initiation ceremonies which are believed to result from the combination of mother-child sleeping, the long poast-partum sex taboo and patrilocal residence.

This article examines several possible correlates of the couvade. Results suggest that father presence, rather than the expected father absence, is significantly associated with the couvade.

This book investigates a broad hypothesis linking social solidarity and initiation ceremonies. The author proposes that “the degree of solidarity of a given social system determines the degree to which status transitions within it will be dramatized” (1). A variety of operational hypotheses are supported for both male and female initiation ceremonies.

This article discusses two different explanations of male initiation ceremonies. Evidence is also presented that suggests that psychological conflict might strongly predict male initiation in the presence of the following catalysts: nonmatrilocal residence, nonstate political organization, and warfare.

This study advances the status envy hypothesis of sex identification to explain customs such as male initiation ceremonies and the couvade. Theory of sex identification is discussed; resource withholding, exclusive mother-child sleeping, patrilocality, father absence, female status, and initiation are all considered. Hypotheses are supported with empirical tests.

This article discusses initiation rites for girls. Specifically explored are the reasons why the ceremonies are observed in some societies and omitted in others and what the variations between societies demonstrates.

Textor summarizes cross-cultural findings on adolescence gender separation pertaining to cultural, environmental, psychological, and social phenomena.

Causal factors to the development of crime are examined. Frequency of theft and personal crime are tested against these causal factors in a search for correlations.

Building on comparative study of the Mormons, Texans, and Zuni in the Rimrock area of Southwestern U.S., the authors cross-cultural test some hypotheses cross-culturally.