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Original Articles
Background
Polygamy is generally defined as a marital relationship involving multiple spouses. The different types of polygamy include polygyny, 'the voluntary union of one man to multiple wives', polyandry, the marriage of one woman to multiple men, and polygynandry, the union of multiple husbands to multiple wives (Al-Krenawi, 2001; Elbedour et al. 2002). The most common form of polygamy worldwide is polygyny or the plurality of wives (Valsiner, 1989); as such, it is more commonly referred to as polygamy, including in academic literature and the remainder of this paper. While the worldwide prevalence of polygamy is unknown, its existence has been documented 'in 80% of societies across the globe, including the United States' (Hassouneh-Phillips, 2001). Polygamy is practiced in over 850 societies, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Oceania, with anywhere from 20% to 50% of all wives participating in polygamous marriages in some cultures (Bergstrom, 1994; Elbedour et al. 2002). Indeed, some indeterminate millions of people the world over participate in polygamy though accurate and current statistics of its estimated prevalence are not yet available (Slonim-Nevo & Al-Krenawi, 2006).
The reasons for polygamy can be many, varied and multi-faceted across and within cultures. These reasons can extend from some sects of Islamic faith, traditional practices, cultural perceptions of family and agricultural and population needs (Al-Krenawi, 1998; Al-Krenawi & Graham, 1999b; Elbedour et al. 2002; Slonim-Nevo & Al-Krenawi, 2006). Still, opinions regarding the practice of polygamy within practicing cultures frequently vary within societies and families, across age groups and gender, even among and within those who practice it (Chaleby, 1988; Al-Krenawi et al. 2006). Furthermore, perspectives of polygamy have been documented as varying even within respondents themselves (Al-Krenawi et al. 2001; Shepard et al. 2010).
As a consequence of the sheer magnitude of the polygamous population as well as the breadth of the research topic, polygamy has substantially developed as a subject of study over the last three decades. Of course, the criticism uttered by Welch & Glick (1981) still stands partially true - namely that the study of polygamy is largely ignored by researchers despite the fact that its ongoing practice warrants its further study. Indeed, Al-Krenawi (1999) has further argued that,...