CONSANGUINEOUS MARRIAGE WITHIN SOCIAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASS BOUNDARIES IN PAKISTAN

Data on patterns of consanguineous marriage were collected from 5340 f amilies resident in eight cities in the Pakistan province of Punjab. T o assess whether social and/or occupational class was interacting with consanguinity, information also was obtained on the hereditary qaum t o which each family belonged. In the present generation 46.5% of all m arriages were contracted at the level of second cousin or closer, with an average coefficient of inbreeding (F) of 0-0286, and the results i ndicated that in each of the seventeen qaums there was strong preferen ce for marriage to a close biological relative. However, significant d ifferences existed in the distribution of consanguineous marriage by q aum membership, which could interfere with the interpretation of studi es into the biological effects of inbreeding.