Peer-reviewed article
A population-based study of inter-generational attitudes towards consanguineous marriages in north-eastern Brazil.
Shirley O A Lima, Allysson A Farias, Victor A Albino, Yanna K Marques-Alves, Ricardo Olinda et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This cross-sectional study examined attitudes toward consanguineous (cousin) marriages among 147 high school students and 532 elderly people in north-eastern Brazil. The research found that support for cousin marriages has increased across generations, with 65% of elderly people approving of their children marrying relatives despite 51% personally opposing such unions. Both age groups predominantly believed that cousin marriages were not more durable than other marriages and did not increase risk of child disability.
Key points
- Frequency of consanguineous marriage increased across generations: 15.9% (parents of elderly), 17.1% (elderly), 20.5% (descendants)
- 65.3% of elderly would approve marriage of their children with relatives, despite 50.9% opposing consanguinity themselves
- Both young (78.3%) and elderly (80.4%) participants believed consanguineous marriages were no more durable than non-consanguineous marriages
- 82% of elderly and 81% of students recognized that spouses in cousin unions experience conflicts like other couples
- Younger individuals showed greater susceptibility to cultural factors supporting consanguinity, particularly parental and grandparental influence
Limitations
This study documents attitudes and beliefs rather than actual health or developmental outcomes for children, so it cannot demonstrate whether consanguineous marriage practices actually affect child well-being. The study is cross-sectional and does not establish causal relationships between attitudes and behaviours.
Abstract
The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate beliefs, attitudes and reproductive behaviours in relation to consanguinity in a population living in the backlands of north-eastern Brazil. Data were collected by face-to-face interview from 147 high school students aged 13-20 years and from 532 elderly individuals aged 60 years and over from Brejo dos Santos in the state of Paraíba in 2017. The frequency of consanguineous marriage was found to have increased over the generations, being 15.9% in the parents of the elderly participants, 17.1% in the elderly participants themselves and 20.5% in their descendants. Although 258 (50.9%) of the elderly interviewees opposed consanguineous union, 341 (65.3%) would approve of the marriage of their children with relatives. Both the young (n=108 or 78.3%) and elderly (n=398 or 80.4%) interviewees believed that consanguineous marriages were no more durable than non-consanguineous marriages (p=0.578). Additionally, 408 (82.4%) of the elderly individuals and 108 (80.6%) of the students recognized that spouses in consanguineous unions experience conflicts, just like other couples do (p=0.625). In both groups, the majority of the participants did not believe that consanguinity increased the risk of having children with disabilities. The regression of the two continuous variables 'age' and 'positive attitudes score' showed a significant correlation, suggesting that younger individuals are more susceptible to the influence of cultural factors contributing to consanguinity, such as the opinions of their parents and grandparents. The belief that consanguineous unions are more durable showed a significant difference between elderly individuals in consanguineous and non-consanguineous unions (p=0.001); the former were 2.42 more likely to believe that marriages between relatives contributes to marriage durability.