Young adults' attitudes towards consanguinity in relation to various sociodemographic factors in the Arab society of Israel

Consanguineous marriages (CMs) have been a longstanding tradition in various communities worldwide, despite their known negative effects on future offspring. Our study aimed to determine the young adults' attitudes towards consanguinity in the Arab society of Israel, pertaining to various sociodemographic factors. The data included in this study were obtained from a national survey. The results showed that 35.4% of adults supported CMs, with a significant gender disparity: 41.2% of males compared to 29.4% of females. A direct correlation between the participants' age and positive attitudes towards CMs was noticeable. A significant portion of married adults (~46%) supported CMs, while majority of the single adults (~42%) held neutral attitudes towards CMs. Additionally, a large majority of adults (~63%) with CMs type had positive attitudes towards consanguinity. Regarding the geographic distribution, and the religious affiliation of adults, notable variations in attitudes were observed. No significant association was found between the adults' education or employment, and their attitudes towards CMs, while an inverse relationship was observed between their income levels and these attitudes. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the parameters which prove to be the significant predictors for the adults' attitudes towards supporting CMs were males, south region, married participants, and CMs type. The findings underscore that majority of the adults' attitudes towards CMs were either neutral or supporting this practice, therefore, effective strategies must be developed to increase the awareness of the young adults in relation to various health implications of CMs, thus improving the well-being of future offspring.