Psychological impact of polygamous marriage on women and children: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Over the last two decades, there has been significant growth in public, political, and academic awareness of polygamy. Polygamous families have distinct household problems, usually stemming from jealousy between co-wives over the husband’s affections and resources. This study aimed to...

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Main Authors: Ismail, Shaiful Bahari, Noor, Norhayati Mohd, Hussain, Nik Hazlina Nik, Abd Aziz, Mohamad Shahirul Aiman Che, Ahmad, Nik Muhammad Arif Nik
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Pusat Pengajian Sains Perubatan, Universiti Sains Malaysia 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:http://eprints.usm.my/50909/1/2021%20SRMA%20Polygamy_BMC%20Preg%20Childbirth-Eprints.pdf
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author Ismail, Shaiful Bahari
Noor, Norhayati Mohd
Hussain, Nik Hazlina Nik
Abd Aziz, Mohamad Shahirul Aiman Che
Ahmad, Nik Muhammad Arif Nik
author_facet Ismail, Shaiful Bahari
Noor, Norhayati Mohd
Hussain, Nik Hazlina Nik
Abd Aziz, Mohamad Shahirul Aiman Che
Ahmad, Nik Muhammad Arif Nik
author_sort Ismail, Shaiful Bahari
collection USM
description Background: Over the last two decades, there has been significant growth in public, political, and academic awareness of polygamy. Polygamous families have distinct household problems, usually stemming from jealousy between co-wives over the husband’s affections and resources. This study aimed to ascertain the psychological impact of polygamous marriage on women and children worldwide. Methods: A systematic search was performed in MEDLINE (PubMed), Scopus, CINAHL (EBSCOhost), Google Scholar, and ProQuest using search terms such as “marriage” and “polygamy.” Studies published from the inception of the respective databases until April 2021 were retrieved to assess their eligibility for inclusion in this study. The Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist was used for data extraction and the quality assessment of the included studies. The generic inverse variance and odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using RevMan software. Results: There were 24 studies fulfilling the eligibility criteria, and 23 studies had a low risk of bias. The pooled meta-analysis showed women in polygamous marriages had a 2.25 (95% CI: 1.20, 4.20) higher chance of experiencing depression than in monogamous marriages. Children with polygamous parents had a significantly higher Global Severity Index with a mean difference of 0.21 (95% CI: 0.10, 0.33) than those with monogamous parents. Conclusions: The psychological impact of polygamous marriage on women and children was found to be relatively higher than monogamous marriage. Awareness of the proper practices for polygamy should be strengthened so that its adverse effects can be minimized. The agencies involved in polygamous practices should broaden and enhance their understanding of the correct practice of polygamy.
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spelling usm.eprints-509092021-12-16T03:40:40Z http://eprints.usm.my/50909/ Psychological impact of polygamous marriage on women and children: a systematic review and meta-analysis Ismail, Shaiful Bahari Noor, Norhayati Mohd Hussain, Nik Hazlina Nik Abd Aziz, Mohamad Shahirul Aiman Che Ahmad, Nik Muhammad Arif Nik R Medicine Background: Over the last two decades, there has been significant growth in public, political, and academic awareness of polygamy. Polygamous families have distinct household problems, usually stemming from jealousy between co-wives over the husband’s affections and resources. This study aimed to ascertain the psychological impact of polygamous marriage on women and children worldwide. Methods: A systematic search was performed in MEDLINE (PubMed), Scopus, CINAHL (EBSCOhost), Google Scholar, and ProQuest using search terms such as “marriage” and “polygamy.” Studies published from the inception of the respective databases until April 2021 were retrieved to assess their eligibility for inclusion in this study. The Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist was used for data extraction and the quality assessment of the included studies. The generic inverse variance and odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using RevMan software. Results: There were 24 studies fulfilling the eligibility criteria, and 23 studies had a low risk of bias. The pooled meta-analysis showed women in polygamous marriages had a 2.25 (95% CI: 1.20, 4.20) higher chance of experiencing depression than in monogamous marriages. Children with polygamous parents had a significantly higher Global Severity Index with a mean difference of 0.21 (95% CI: 0.10, 0.33) than those with monogamous parents. Conclusions: The psychological impact of polygamous marriage on women and children was found to be relatively higher than monogamous marriage. Awareness of the proper practices for polygamy should be strengthened so that its adverse effects can be minimized. The agencies involved in polygamous practices should broaden and enhance their understanding of the correct practice of polygamy. Pusat Pengajian Sains Perubatan, Universiti Sains Malaysia 2021 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://eprints.usm.my/50909/1/2021%20SRMA%20Polygamy_BMC%20Preg%20Childbirth-Eprints.pdf Ismail, Shaiful Bahari and Noor, Norhayati Mohd and Hussain, Nik Hazlina Nik and Abd Aziz, Mohamad Shahirul Aiman Che and Ahmad, Nik Muhammad Arif Nik (2021) Psychological impact of polygamous marriage on women and children: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychological impact of polygamous marriage on women and children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
spellingShingle R Medicine
Ismail, Shaiful Bahari
Noor, Norhayati Mohd
Hussain, Nik Hazlina Nik
Abd Aziz, Mohamad Shahirul Aiman Che
Ahmad, Nik Muhammad Arif Nik
Psychological impact of polygamous marriage on women and children: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title Psychological impact of polygamous marriage on women and children: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_full Psychological impact of polygamous marriage on women and children: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_fullStr Psychological impact of polygamous marriage on women and children: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_full_unstemmed Psychological impact of polygamous marriage on women and children: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_short Psychological impact of polygamous marriage on women and children: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_sort psychological impact of polygamous marriage on women and children a systematic review and meta analysis
topic R Medicine
url http://eprints.usm.my/50909/1/2021%20SRMA%20Polygamy_BMC%20Preg%20Childbirth-Eprints.pdf
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