School of Nursing, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia 30460, USA.
Int Nurs Rev. 2010 Mar;57(1):121-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1466-7657.2009.00762.x.
Polygyny, the practice of taking more than one wife at the same time is a common practice in several countries including Africa. This study, conducted in Ghana, West Africa, investigated married women's experiences in polygyny and their ways of coping.
Using exploratory qualitative methodology, data were collected from 15 married women who consented to in-depth interviews. The study was conducted in the summer of 2005 with approval from an institutional review board and permission from community leaders from the study site.
Three themes emerged from the study: infertility, co-wives' relationships and ways of coping. The findings indicated that infertility was the number one reason that women allowed for co-wives in their marriages because this was necessary to protect the marriage rather than divorce. Unhappiness, loneliness, sense of competition and jealousy, and lack of intimacy with the spouse were identified as disadvantages of polygyny. The perceived advantages of polygyny included sharing of house chores and child rearing. The women's ways of coping included the use of religion, faith and a strong sisterly bond formed with the co-wives. Though the majority of the women disapproved of polygyny unions, divorce was not an option.
These findings have implications for nursing and policy-makers. Nurses can provide education and implement programmes that teach coping mechanisms and stress management. Policy-makers should be made aware of the implications of polygynous marriages on women's health and well-being. There is the need to conduct more research to investigate the effects of polygyny on women's mental health and the need to develop programmes to support women.
多配偶制，即同时拥有多个妻子，是包括非洲在内的一些国家的常见做法。本研究在西非的加纳进行，调查了已婚女性在多配偶制中的经历及其应对方式。
采用探索性定性方法，从同意接受深入访谈的 15 名已婚女性中收集数据。该研究于 2005 年夏季进行，获得了机构审查委员会的批准，并获得了研究地点社区领导人的许可。
该研究提出了三个主题：不孕、妯娌关系和应对方式。研究结果表明，不孕是女性允许在婚姻中拥有多个妻子的首要原因，因为这是保护婚姻而不是离婚的必要条件。不幸福、孤独、竞争感和嫉妒感以及与配偶缺乏亲密感被认为是多配偶制的缺点。多配偶制的好处包括分担家务和育儿。女性的应对方式包括使用宗教、信仰和与妯娌建立的牢固姐妹关系。尽管大多数女性不赞成多配偶制婚姻，但离婚不是一种选择。
这些发现对护理人员和政策制定者具有启示意义。护士可以提供教育并实施计划，教授应对机制和压力管理。政策制定者应该意识到多配偶制婚姻对妇女健康和福祉的影响。有必要进行更多的研究，以调查多配偶制对妇女心理健康的影响，并制定支持妇女的计划。
