This paper addresses the question of whether the relatively high status of women in pre-colonial South-east Asia is still evident among Malay women in twentieth century Peninsular Malaysia. Compared to patterns in East and South Asia, Malay family structure does not follow the typical patriarchal patterns of patrilineal descent, patrilocal residence of newly married couples, and preference for ...

Scholars traditionally argued that industrialization, urbanization, and educational expansion lead to a decline in extended families and complementary rise in nuclear families. Some have suggested that such transitions are good for young married women because living in nuclear families benefits their health. However, extended families may also present advantages for young women's health that ou...

Because of the widespread phenomenon of patrilocality, it is hypothesized that Y-chromosome variants tend to be more localized geographically than those of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Empirical evidence confirmatory to this hypothesis was subsequently provided among certain patrilocal and matrilocal groups of Thailand, which conforms to the isolation by distance mode of gene diffusion. However, ...

Using recent survey data from the Panel Study of Family Dynamics (PSFD) on 1,655 married persons born in 1964-1976 in southeastern China and Taiwan, we studied coresidence with elderly parents using a multinomial probit model for coresidence type and an ordered probit model for residential distance. The study yielded four findings: (a) Patrilocal coresidence was more prevalent in Taiwan than in...

Stereotypical portrayals of the Hmong in Vietnam emphasize their apparently exotic customs related to sexual relationships and marriage and their alleged backwardness and resistance to change. Yet their history shows their ability to respond to changing socioeconomic contexts. This study details practices and aspirations concerning love, marriage and education among different generations of Whi...

Previous studies have investigated the human population history of eastern North America by examining mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation among Native Americans, but these studies could only reconstruct maternal population history. To evaluate similarities and differences in the maternal and paternal population histories of this region, we obtained DNA samples from 605 individuals, representing...