Consanguineous Marriage and its Relationship with Sociocultural Variables in Urban and Bedouin Geographical Regions in Kuwait
Abstract
Consanguineous marriage is a common type of marriage in the Middle East. Arab countries have the highest consanguineous marriage rates in the world. The differences in the prevalence of consanguineous marriage is related to differences in each geographic area. The major aim of this study is to examine the relationship between the prevalence of consanguineous marriage and some sociocultural variables in urban (Ḥawallī governorate (muḥāfaẓa)) and Bedouin (Al‑Farwāniyya governorate (muḥāfaẓa)) geographical administrative regions in Kuwait. Differences between marriage patterns in the two governorates were tested. A sample of 3497 married women was selected (2152 in Al‑Farwāniyya and 1345 in Ḥawallī). SPSS was used for data entry and analysis. T‑test, chi‑square and multivariate regression were used. Data found that age at marriage was closely correlated with marriage patterns. Significant differences between marriage patterns and many sociocultural variables have been found, such as marriage duration, age at marriage, and number of children. It was also found that Al‑Farwāniyya has a higher rate of consanguineous marriage than Ḥawallī, especially in first and second cousin marriage patterns. It can be concluded that differences in social groups lead to differences in the marriage preference type in Kuwait depending on several sociocultural variables.
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