Women of Polygamous Marriages in Primary Health Care Centers

Clinical implications for working with polygamous families are discussed following a report of research among a sample of 126 Bedouin-Arab women from polygamous marriages who were being seen in primary health care centers. Of these, 94 were senior wives who were followed by another wife in the marriage, and 32 were junior wives, the most recent wife joining the marriage. Data revealed that senior wives reported lower self-esteem as compared to junior wives. Findings also showed that senior wives reported poorer relationships with their husbands compared to their junior counterparts. Often when a husband married a second wife, the marriage could be based on love, rather than parental arrangement, an exchange, or consanguinity as in the first. These factors also contribute to the senior wife's low self-esteem and marital dissatisfaction.     

Mental Health Aspects of Arab-Israeli Adolescents From Polygamous Versus Monogamous Families

Abstract

The authors considered the mental health consequences of polygamy in a sample of 101 Arab Muslim adolescents (19 from polygamous and 82 from monogamous families) at Juarish (Ramla), Israel. The respondents completed the Self-Esteem Scale (SE; M. Rosenberg, 1979), the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI; L. Derogatis & N. Melsavados, 1983; L. Derogatis & P. Spencer, 1982), and the McMaster Family Assessment Device (FAD; N. B. Epstein, M. N. Baldwin, & D. S. Bishop, 1983). The respondents from polygamous families had lower SE scores, statistically significant higher scores in 2 BSI dimensions, higher scores in all other BSI dimensions, and higher levels of self-reported family dysfunction. The respondents from polygamous families reported lower levels of socioeconomic status, academic achievement, and parental academic attainment. Those variables may have had a more direct impact on mental health than did parental marital status. The data also indicated that perceived family functioning was the best predictor of mental health.     

Intelligence and Family Marital Structure: The Case of Adolescents From Monogamous and Polygamous Families Among Bedouin Arabs in Israel

Abstract

The levels of intelligence among Bedouin Arab adolescents from monogamous and polygamous families living in the Negev region of Israel were examined. A shortened version of the Raven's Progressive Matrices (RPM) test (S. Elbedour, T. J. Bouchard, & Y. Hur, 1997; J. Raven, J. C. Raven, & J. H. Court, 1998) was used to assess intelligence. There were no significant test score differences between adolescents from monogamous families and adolescents from polygamous families. In addition, participants with 2 mothers tended to have lower RPM scores than those with 3 or 4 mothers, and participants with related parents tended to have lower RPM scores than participants with unrelated parents. One major finding of this study is that polygamous family marital structures tended not to have deleterious effects on the Bedouin Arab adolescents' RPM test scores.     

The effect of polygamous marital structure on behavioral,emotional, and academic adjustment in children: a comprehensive review of the literature

Polygamy represents expanded family structures that are based on marriages involving a husband with 2 or more wives. Interestingly, polygamy is legally and widely practiced in 850 societies across the globe. In the last 2 decades, polygamy has been the focus of a significant growth in public, political, and academic awareness. Indeed, several quantitative and qualitative research articles and theoretical papers have emerged during this period, particularly concerning the effects of this form of marital structure on behavioral, emotional, and academic adjustment of children. However, to date, no researcher has provided a summary of the extant literature. Thus, the purpose of this comprehensive literature review is to summarize findings and to discuss implications of empirical studies that have examined whether polygamous marital structures are beneficial or harmful to children in comparison with children raised in monogamous marital structures. This review includes a summary of the findings from all quantitative and qualitative studies in the extant literature that have examined the effect of polygamy on children's outcomes.     

Intersectional cosmopolitanism: Muslim women’s engagement with polygamy on Malaysian and Indonesian screens

ABSTRACT

This article interrogates how the diverse realities of Muslim women fray the concept of ‘Muslim cosmopolitanism’ in Southeast Asia. By comparing how Malaysian Muslim women interpret polygamy in Malaysian and Indonesian screens, this article problematises the idea of a unified cosmopolitanism experienced by Muslims from the Malay world. Based on findings from interviews with 25 educated women, this article shows that media representations of polygamy and Muslim femininity can differ even between two Southeast Asian countries sharing common gendered and religious practices. It argues that the women’s understanding of polygamy is based on the intertwinement of their ethnic, gendered and classed subjectivities that are not necessarily informed by their religious beliefs per se but rather by the broader socio-political contexts in which they live. Through this embodiment of intersectional cosmopolitanism, they not only disrupt existing notions of ‘Muslim cosmopolitanism’ but highlight the heterogeneous experiences of Muslims within Southeast Asia.