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.

The author hypothesizes that physical violence is strongly related to the deprivation of physical pleasure. The author tests this hypothesis by looking at the relationship between physical affection towards infants, as well as attitudes towards premarital sex, and several variables related to violence. Results support the hypothesis.

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 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.

Authors study the correlation between maternal behavior and reference to odors in folktales. They find several significant relationships between odor references in folk tales, maternal behavior, and various aspects of infant and child socialization.

The relationships of aggression and crime to variables of childhood experience, adult behavior, and social structure are cross-culturally analyzed.

This study uses empirical analysis to parse out different dimensions of permissiveness in child-rearing. Oral-sexuality, independence-anality, and aggression are the dimensions identified.

This chapter attempts to explain why the number, importance, and duration of food and sex taboos during pregnancy vary cross-culturally. The author hypothesizes that differences in child socialization will be associated with differences in food taboos, and differences in sexual behavior and sanctions will be associated with sex taboos. Results support the hypotheses.

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.

This article examines the relationship between childhood experience and adult personality. This aspect of the adult personality is defined as ego strength. The emphasis of this study is mental health, maturity and the effectiveness of adult learning. Psychoanalytic theory predicts curvilinear relationships but most relationships are linear.