The paper presents the preliminary findings of pilot studies testing the factors affecting the variation in rules regarding premarital sex cross-culturally. Only the trends emerging from the pilot studies are discussed. No findings are conclusive.

The paper presents the preliminary findings of pilot studies testing the factors affecting the variation in rules regarding premarital sex cross-culturally. Only the trends emerging from the pilot studies are discussed. No findings are conclusive.

This article examines the homoarchical custom of hereditary community leadership. Four predictors are identified: (1) permission of premarital heterosexual intercourse by females, (2) small community population, (3) multiple social classes or castes, and (4) praying or violence as a component of community ceremonies. Log linear analysis shows all but the third are significantly associated with hereditary community leadership.

This chapter examines the variables that favor restrictive premarital sex norms. Findings indicate that subsistence economy, technology, population size, political integration, belief in a high god, and residence are all correlated with premarital sex norms.

This chapter examines the variables that favor restrictive premarital sex norms. Findings indicate that subsistence economy, technology, population size, political integration, belief in a high god, and residence are all correlated with premarital sex norms.

This book is a comprehensive analysis of many aspects of social structure including family, clan, community, kinship terminology, social organization, regulation of sex, incest taboos, and sexual choice.

The relationship between restrictions on premarital sex and the privacy of sexual practices is examined, using the degree of impenetrability of house materials as both a proxy and assumed cause for "offstage" or private sex. The author theorizes that permissive premarital sex norms are a response to open dwelling types which are themselves an adaptation to warm temperatures.

This article discusses maidenhood, the period of time between menarche and marriage. In-depth case illustrations provide insights into the social, technological, and environmental factors that affect the length of maidenhood. The authors use cross-cultural evidence to challenge contemporary American assumptions that teenagers are too young to be mothers and that young women should focus on a career before marriage and child-rearing. A variety of descriptive statistics are also presented.

This article tests Randall Collin's 1975 theory that political-economic factors, rather than family/kinship factors, predict the degree of sexual stratification in a given society. A multivariate model is tested and findings contradict the theory.

This article tests Randall Collin's 1975 theory that political-economic factors, rather than family/kinship factors, predict the degree of sexual stratification in a given society. A multivariate model is tested and findings contradict the theory.