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 seeks to examine the distribution and frequency of bride-theft. Tylor's (1889) findings between various forms of marriage by capture and certain other social instituions are confirmed.

This article presents a reanalysis of the theory put forth by Hartung (1981) regarding the relationship between inheritance and paternity confidence. The authors take issue with the original sample used and retest the hypothesis.

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 purpose of this paper is to examine marriage ceremony by generalizing an assumption underlying certain studies of puberty rites. It is hypothesized that when marriage ceremonies are viewed as a rite of passage they will be demonstrative of the changes the self experiences after marriage.

This book discusses the characteristics of adolescence cross-culturally and examines the differences in the adolescent experience for males and females. Several relationships are tested in order to gain an understanding of cross-cultural patterns in adolescence.

This study explores the extent to which heterosexual sex, love, and intimacy are interrelated and the degree to which the sexual revolution has had a positive or negative impact on male-female relationships. The author employs a correlation matrix to examine the interrelationships of several variables related to aloofness and intimacy in the sexual and non-sexual aspects of heterosexual relationships. Results suggest that the sexual revolution has had some positive effects on male-female relationships, but also that sexual behavior does not predict the degree to which marriages are intimate or aloof. Results also show little support for the hypothesis that marital aloofness is related to hypermasculinity.

Textor summarizes cross-cultural findings on premarital sexual relations pertaining to cultural, environmental, psychological, and social phenomena.

This study is a comprehensive analysis of female and male genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C and MGM/C) practices, including their history and socio-ecological correlates, using a phylogenetic cross-cultural framework. It employed two global ethnographic samples, the Ethnographic Atlas (EA) and the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample (SCCS), and two subsets of the phylogeny (supertree) of human populations based on genetic and linguistic data, to investigate the variables that may have led to the introduction of these practices, and to determine where and when they may have originated. The study suggests that MGM/C probably originated in polygynous societies with separate residence for co-wives, supporting a mate-guarding function, and that FGM/C likely originated subsequently and almost exclusively in societies already practicing MGM/C, where it may have become a signal of chastity. Both practices are believed to have originated multiple times, some as early as in the mid-Holocene (5,000–7,000 years ago). The study posits that GM/C co-evolves with and may help maintain fundamental social structures and that the high fitness costs of FGM/C are offset by social benefits, such as enhanced marriageability and social capital.

This article uses an evolutionary psychological approach to hypothesize about the relationships between norms regarding male and female sexual behavior and female independence. Results suggest that more female independence is related to more permissive sex norms.