Mate selection among second generation kibbutz adolescents and adults: Incest avoidance and negative imprinting

Abstract

Premarital sexual behavior and marriage patterns were investigated in Israeli kibbutzim. All adolescents and adults of the second generation (N =65)in one kibbutz were studied. There were no cases of heterosexual activity between any two native adolescents of the same peer group and no cases of marriage between any two members of the same peer group. The avoidance was completely voluntary. Among 2769 marriages contracted by second generation adults in all kibbutzim, there were no cases of intra-peer group marriage. These findings could represent a case of negative imprinting whereby collective peer group education which includes an incessant exposure to peers from the first days of life and an unimpeded tactile relationship among the peers between ages 0-6 results in sexual avoidance and exogamy.