Polygamous Families in Contemporary Society

by Irwin Altman , Joseph Ginat , Foreword by Sterling M. McMurrin

• ISBN13: 9780521561693
• ISBN10: 0521561698
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1996-07-26
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

In this intriguing book, social psychologist Irwin Altman and anthropologist Joseph Ginat examine husband-wife and wife-wife relationships in contemporary Mormon polygamous families. The authors describe how husbands and wives in plural families cope with their complex lifestyle in various facets of everyday life, including courtship, weddings, honeymoons, adjustments to a new life, living arrangements, and the husband's rotation among wives. Other topics include budget and resource management, psychological attachments to homes, and the social-emotional relationships among family members. This pioneering, comprehensive analysis of life in modern day Mormon polygamous families uses first-hand interviews and observations to describe this unusual family lifestyle. It adds to our understanding of close relationships and complements knowledge on other modern relationship forms, such as single-parent families, blended families, and cohabitating partners. This is important reading for researchers in social psychology, anthropology, and religious studies. Lay readers will also find the subject matter to be fascinating.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

Part I. Historical Background: 2. Mormon history 1830-1890: the early years

3. Contemporary fundamentalist movements

4. The people and their communities

Part II. Early Stages of Relationships: 5. Deciding to add a new wife to a family

6. Courtship

7. Wedding and marriage ceremonies

8. Honeymoons

9. Adjusting to a new marriage

Part III. Home Environments of Plural Families: 10. Living arrangements

11. Wives and homes

12. Husbands and homes

Part IV. Managing Everyday Life: 13. The rotation process: husbands and wives alone together

14. Budget and resource management

15. Celebrations

Part V. Social-Emotional Relationships: 16. Social-emotional relationships of husbands and wives

17. Relationships between wives

18. Family structure

19. Parents and children

20. Summing up

Appendices.