The Impact of Polygamy on Women's Mental Health

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Recommended: Effects of polygamy on children around the world

The topic has a close connection to the Humanities and Social Sciences field as it raises an issue of women’s marginalization and oppression being a part of polygamy implementation in society. In contemporary world when the women rights movements and feminism ideology play a prominent role in the international community, polygamy and its effects on women cannot remain unnoticed. Functioning on a base of religious beliefs, culture or traditions, polygamy in many communities is considered as an inevitable part of people’s lives. Therefore, it is important to examine the presence and extent of mental disorders of women as a result of involvement in polygamous family structure. Moreover, this paper will aim to prove the negative impact of polygamy on women mental health and life satisfaction regardless of a religion, culture or living conditions in which it is functioning.
Questions to address:
1. What are the mental illnesses that polygamy may lead to?
2. Precisely, which aspects of polygamy cause mental problems?
3. Are there any other factors that can reduce/increase the mental outcome of polygamy?

Justification
Questions outlined above established the preliminary stage of the investigation, the process of answering which raise the main research questions.
1. What is the difference in the way polygamy is functioning in different types of communities (Arabic, African)?
2. Are the effects of polygamy identical for both types of communities? Why?
3. What are the other factors that influence mental outcome of polygamy?

Assumptions:
• The variety of cultures in which polygamy is implemented creates a strong obstacle for its outcomes investigation. Different religious beliefs, cultures, marriage perception and views determine a nee...

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...amous Families.” International journal of social psychiatry 52(3): 214-220. doi:10.1177/0020764006067207.

Shepard, L.D. 2013. “The Impact of Polygamy on Women's Mental Health: a Systematic Review.” Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences 22: 47-62. doi:10.1017/S2045796012000121.

Slonim-Nevo, Vered, and Alean Al-Krenawi. 2006. “Success and Failure among Polygamous Families: the Experience of Wives, Husbands, and Children.” Family process 45(3):311-330. doi: 10.1111/j.1545-5300.2006.00173.x.

Thompson, Alexa. 2012 "Polygamy and Islam." Ormond Papers: 160-163. Accessed Februaury 10, 2014. http://www.davidjohnsweeney.net/Papers/Priest2012-AProlegomenon.pdf#page=162.

Zeitzen, Miriam Koktvedgaard. 2008. Polygamy: A Cross-Cultural Analysis. Oxford: Berg Publishers. Accessed February 10, 2014. http://ezproxy.library.nu.edu.kz:2054/lib/astana/docDetail.action?docID=10328946.

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