This article discusses the variation in sex ratios at birth among human populations and the possible explanations for this variation. One possible explanation is the timing of intercourse and its relationship to the frequency of intercourse, which can affect the timing of conception. The article presents evidence that the male/female sex ratios of 148 countries declined with total fertility rates and polygyny intensity and increased with contraception use in correlational analysis. These results were independent of mother's age and level of economic development. The predictive effect of polygyny and contraception disappeared when total fertility was added to the equation. The article also considers other possible explanations for the variation in sex ratios, such as genetics, hormones, nutrition, and social factors.

This study investigates responses to childlessness in a cross-cultural sample. Solutions to childlessness appear universal, and magico-religious-ethnomedical solutions seem the most likely to be tried first. Empirical analysis also shows that women are blamed for childlessness more often than men, which the authors suggest could be due to women’s lower status.

The researchers examine associations between male status and various measures of reproductive success among foraging/non-foraging, and monogamous/polygynous societies in order to test the "egalitarian hypothesis" which predicts lower status effects in hunter-gatherer groups. Contrary to this hypothesis, they find that male social status is equally significantly associated with reproductive success in foraging and nonforaging societies. Additional support is found for the "mating effort" hypothesis, which predicts that male reproductive success will be more associated with fertility than offspring mortality in polygynous societies, leading the authors to make various suggestions regarding the evolutionary mechanisms at play.

The present study tests the theory that intrasexual selection or male attraction may explain variation in male aggression in a sample of 78 societies. Measures of intrasexual selection include: male subsistence, male war mortality, polygyny, sex ratio, and wives variance. The authors claim support for the theory.

Using empirical data and statistical methodology, Gouldner and Peterson aim to identify fundamental dimensions across societies, examine the relationships among these dimensions, and evaluate their importance. Data analysis is largely based on factor analysis, and the authors discuss how statistical methods fit into functional social theory.

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

This article uses factor analysis to identify the key variables underlying the many cross-cultural associations reported by Textor (1967). Twelve factors are identified.

This article focuses on parents’ investment of material resources at the time of their child’s marriage. Two patterns emerge from the data: wealth is generally transferred from the groom’s family to the bride’s and from the couple’s parents to the bride and groom. Social and ecological factors are also examined. Multiple regression analysis shows that paternal confidence level, societal polygyny rate, and level of pathogen stress can affect the aforementioned wealth transfer patterns.

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

The purpose of this book is to introduce a conceptual and methodological perspective called the "universalist approach," and to use this approach in exploring the pancultural antecedents and affects of parental acceptance-rejection of children,