Consanguineous marriage in Jordan

Area of Science:

• Sociology
• Human Genetics
• Demography

Background:

• Consanguineous marriages are common in many societies worldwide.
• Understanding marriage patterns is crucial for genetic and social studies.
• Jordan presents a unique cultural context for studying consanguinity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence and patterns of consanguineous marriages in Jordan.
• To identify key factors influencing consanguineous marriage trends.
• To compare Jordan's inbreeding coefficients with international data.

Main Methods:

• Population-based study involving interviews with approximately 2,000 households in Jordan.
• Analysis of marriage types: first cousin, second cousin, distant relation, and unrelated.
• Statistical comparison of inbreeding coefficients across different countries and demographic factors.

Main Results:

• First cousin marriages constitute 32.03% of all marriages in the study.
• Second cousin (6.8%) and distant relation (10.5%) marriages were also observed.
• No relation marriages accounted for 50% of the total, indicating a significant portion of non-consanguineous unions.
• Social tradition, religion, education, and urban vs. rural residence were identified as key influencing variables.
• Secular trends for consanguineous marriages, especially first cousin, have remained relatively stable since the early 20th century.

Conclusions:

• Jordanian society exhibits deeply rooted traditional patterns regarding consanguineous marriages.
• Social and demographic factors significantly shape the prevalence of inbreeding.
• The stability of these trends suggests a persistent cultural norm influencing marital choices.