Wife Abuse Among Polygamous and Monogamous Bedouin-Arab Families

This study compared the phenomenon of wife abuse in polygamous and monogamous Bedouin-Arab families. A sample of 81 women participated in the present study −40 were from polygamous and 41 were from monogamous families. The instruments administered examined three dimensions: Demographic variables, sense of personal potency (as assessed by the Potency Scale: Ben-Sira, 1985) and experience of abusive behavior (as assessed by the Psychological Maltreatment of Women Inventory: Tolman, 1995, 1989). Results indicated higher levels of potency and lower levels of wife abuse among monogamous as compared to polygamous wives. These findings are discussed in the context of women's sense of personal potency.