This study tests the relationship between menstrual taboos and castration anxiety. The author posits that the extensiveness of menstrual taboos is determined by the average castration anxiety. Using various measures of castration anxiety, the author finds significant support for this hypothesis.

This study tests the relationship between menstrual taboos and castration anxiety. The author posits that the extensiveness of menstrual taboos is determined by the average castration anxiety. Using various measures of castration anxiety, the author finds significant support for this hypothesis.

This study tests the relationship between menstrual taboos and castration anxiety. The author posits that the extensiveness of menstrual taboos is determined by the average castration anxiety. Using various measures of castration anxiety, the author finds significant support for this hypothesis.

The author attempts to test the "Oedipus-complex" hypothesis--the psychoanalytic idea that under certain conditions (such as the long-post partum sex taboo) males are sexually attracted to their mothers and as a consequence certain fears and anxiety are generaated. The hypothesis is tested at the societal-level using ethnographic data.

The author attempts to test the "Oedipus-complex" hypothesis--the psychoanalytic idea that under certain conditions (such as the long-post partum sex taboo) males are sexually attracted to their mothers and as a consequence certain fears and anxiety are generaated. The hypothesis is tested at the societal-level using ethnographic data.

The author attempts to test the "Oedipus-complex" hypothesis--the psychoanalytic idea that under certain conditions (such as the long-post partum sex taboo) males are sexually attracted to their mothers and as a consequence certain fears and anxiety are generaated. The hypothesis is tested at the societal-level using ethnographic data.

The author attempts to test the "Oedipus-complex" hypothesis--the psychoanalytic idea that under certain conditions (such as the long-post partum sex taboo) males are sexually attracted to their mothers and as a consequence certain fears and anxiety are generaated. The hypothesis is tested at the societal-level using ethnographic data.

This study first reviews two explanations of menstrual taboos: taboos as an aspect of social rigidity and a psychogenic interpretation of menstrual taboos. The authors chiefly advocate a sociogenic explanation of menstrual taboos.

The author attempts to test the "Oedipus-complex" hypothesis--the psychoanalytic idea that under certain conditions (such as the long-post partum sex taboo) males are sexually attracted to their mothers and as a consequence certain fears and anxiety are generaated. The hypothesis is tested at the societal-level using ethnographic data.

The author attempts to test the "Oedipus-complex" hypothesis--the psychoanalytic idea that under certain conditions (such as the long-post partum sex taboo) males are sexually attracted to their mothers and as a consequence certain fears and anxiety are generaated. The hypothesis is tested at the societal-level using ethnographic data.