Against Violence Against Women

Fields, Rona M.

doi:10.1057/9781137310644

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 79 publications

(27 reference statements)

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“…Further, polygamous families are embedded in collectivism or tribal systems where the responsibility of caring for children is jointly shared between the immediate and extended family. These worldviews of “nested self” and elevated social status due to large family size induced by polygamous marital practice are likely to serve as a buffer system to the absenteeism of the father and compensate for, reduce, and/or eliminate risk status and vulnerability of children in the polygamous family (Elbedour et al, 2002; Fields, 2016). However, this may not be the case for urban societies that have better access to modern technology and thus a less insulated view of the outside world.…”

Section: Family Cohesion Polygamy and Children's Mental Health Problemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polygamy and mental health among Saudi middle schoolers: The role of family cohesion and father involvement

et al. 2022

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Objective This paper assesses the role of family cohesion in the relationship between polygamy and mental health and whether this varies as a function of the father's involvement. Background Studies show that polygamy has a detrimental effect on children's mental health, yet familial variables that may account for this relationship have rarely been explored. Family cohesion is crucial for the relationship between a range of familial risk factors and mental health. Method Data about family structure, family cohesion, mental health, father involvement, and other related sociodemographic variables were collected from students from randomly selected middle schools (students N = 758) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Results Polygamous marital structure predicted more psychosocial problems and higher internalizing symptoms, but not externalizing problems. Polygamy had an indirect association with psychosocial problems through family cohesion, and father involvement moderated the relationship between polygamy and family cohesion. Conclusion The findings suggest that living in polygamous families may impair the mental health of middle school–aged children, in part by diminishing family cohesion. Additionally, low father involvement may exaggerate threats to family cohesion resulting from polygamy and subsequent child mental health consequences. However, contrary to previous research, children's externalizing behavior did not vary by polygamous marital structure. Implications Family‐focused therapies, which include the fathers, may be of particular use to support this at‐risk group.

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Section: Family Cohesion Polygamy and Children's Mental Health Problemsmentioning

confidence: 99%