Intergenerational Transmission of Conjugal Stability in a Caribbean Community

Bibliographic Data

ID2968637
AuthorsR J Quinlan (0000-0001-8934-5643, Ball State University), M V Flinn (0000-0002-8732-3085, University of Missouri)
Year2003
Volume34
Issue4
Pages569-583
Publication date2003-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Comparative Family Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0047-2328 • E-ISSN: 1929-9850
PublisherUniversity of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.3138/jcfs.34.4.569
OpenAlexW2598743304
LanguageEN
Citations received14
References cited27

Some evolutionary models of human behavior posit that father-absence during early childhood influences subsequent adult reproductive strategies. We compare evidence for intergenerational transmission of conjugal stability in Western industrial populations with multigeneration patterns of conjugal stability in a rural Caribbean community. Genealogies (N=8O3) and behavioral data for a Caribbean community suggest that father-absence during early childhood has weak influence on later conjugal stability. Father- absent females were slightly more likely to have father-absent children than were father-present females (p=.08). Women whose mother had multiple mates were more likely to have multiple mates themselves (p=.03). Father-absent males were not more likely to become absent fathers than were father-present males. Men whose mother had multiple mates were not more likely to have multiple mates. Evidence from industrial populations and behavioral observations in a Caribbean community suggest that parental supervision during adolescence influences children's subsequent conjugal stability

Developmental psychology · Sociology · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Demography · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Psychology

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