“I Have No Hope”: The Experience of Mothers in Polygamous Families as Manifested in Drawings and Narratives

Abstract

Polygamy is associated with lower marital satisfaction and is known to involve sexual, physical, and emotional abuse on the part of the husband. Less is known about the experience of mothers in polygamous families. This study was designed to shed light on the experiences of women in polygamous families in a sample of 80 Israeli Arab mothers living in polygamous families who use social services, domestic violence agencies, and health centers. Mothers were asked to draw their experiences in their families and to provide narratives for the drawings. A phenomenological approach was used to analyze the drawings, and yielded five different pictorial phenomena: (1) pseudo-sweetness, (2) houses, (3) the absentee father and the estranged mother, (4) incorporation of graphic symbols and lettering that represented distress, and (5) growth and development. Most of the drawings were restricted and shallow, indicating a complex emotional state of despair and distress. The central feelings that emerged from the drawings were negative emotions of anger, sadness, loneliness, and powerlessness. While some women longed for romantic relationships with their husbands, others expressed the desire for revenge and justice. Dissociation and parentification, as central coping strategies, emerged from the drawings and the narratives. The findings are discussed theoretically and clinically.

Development and Validation of an Indigenous Jealousy Scale for Polygamous Women

“…While, negative significant correlation with psychological well-being another subscale of mental health inventory. Inequality and injustice from husbands produce jealousy, sadness, loneliness, emotional distress, and despair which leads to mental health problems even suicidal ideation among polygamous women (Gadban & Goldner, 2020). In another study, suicidal behavior and mental health issues of the polygamous women and children were highlighted as being a wife of a husband with three and more other wives.…”

“…Many family members suffer symptoms of depression, anxiety, trauma, somatic symptom disorder, interpersonal sensitivity, phobias, obsessive-compulsive tendencies, paranoia, and psychotics (Abd Razak et al, 2020). Gadban and Goldner (2020) investigated different polygamous women's experiences through drawing tests that indicated complex emotions of anger, jealousy, sadness, loneliness, and lack of power. Few also expressed romantic relationships with their husbands and some of them also reported a desire for justice, equality, and revenge.…”

A Systematic Review On The Impact Of Polygamy On Women’s Mental Health

“…A P value exceeding 0.05 for the variables was statistically significant. [36] Among the studies included in the systematic review, a diverse geographic distribution was observed, with contributions from Syria [25,30], Arab regions [26,28,35], Turkey [27,31], Pakistan [29], Africa [32,33], Asia [34], and Iran [36]. The sample sizes varied considerably, ranging from as few as 11 participants in the smallest study [29] to a substantial cohort of 4469 individuals in the largest study [32].…”

“…A socio-demographic questionnaire multivariate logistic regression models were used in the study [33] Alen -al-Krenawi (2010) A socio-demographic questionnaire, the McMaster Family Assessment Device (FAD), the ENRICH marital satisfaction questionnaire, the SCL-90 mental health symptoms checklist, the Rosenberg self-esteem (SE) scale and Life satisfaction were used in the study. [34] Gad ban et al, (2020) The Drawing Task, the art-based technique, was used in the study [35] Farahmand and Rezvani (2019) Modified McMaster's functioning scale and Olson's marital satisfaction scale, Cohen, Kamarck, and Mermelstein's perceived stress scale (PSS) and Mahdavi, Sabouri power scale (PS) [36] The measurement tools utilized across the included studies in the systematic review were diverse and tailored to capture various aspects of individuals' well-being and experiences within polygamous relationships. These tools included established questionnaires such as the Enrich questionnaire, McMaster Family Assessment Device (FAD), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Symptoms Checklist-90 (SCL-90), and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) [25,27,28,30,33,34].…”

“…Additionally, structured Arabic language questionnaires and socio-demographic questionnaires were employed to assess socioeconomic position, depressive symptoms, and self-rated health among participants [26,31]. Some studies incorporated qualitative methods such as in-depth interviews and art-based techniques like the Drawing Task to gain deeper insights into participants' experiences and perceptions [29,35]. Furthermore, specialized scales such as the Conflict Tactic Scale, modified McMaster's functioning scale, Olson's marital satisfaction scale, and perceived stress scales were used to examine specific aspects of marital dynamics and psychological wellbeing within polygamous households [32,36].…”