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1996 Utah L. Rev. 367 (1996)
Polygamous Family Life: The Case of Contemporary Mormon Fundamentalists

handle is hein.journals/utahlr1996 and id is 377 raw text is: Polygamous Family Life: The Case of Contemporary Mormon Fundamentalists Irwin Altman* I. INTRODUCTION This Paper summarizes an ongoing research program on con- temporary Mormon polygynous families (one husband and two or more wives). We examine husband-wife and wife-wife relations in plural families in regard to (1) how husbands and wives achieve viable dyadic and communal relationships, and (2) how dyadic and communal issues are managed in social and physical contexts through the life cycle of plural family relationships. The project extends my and my colleagues' earlier work on the development of interpersonal relationships, privacy regulation, and the role of the physical environment in close personal relationships. The research also derives from dialectic and transactional/ contextu- al philosophical perspectives with which I have been working for years. Thus this project caps my long- term interests in theory, methodology, and philosophy of research on interpersonal relation- ships. The research venue resulted from informal discussions with Joseph Ginat, an Israeli anthropologist who completed his Ph.D. at the University of Utah in the 1970s. Consistent with his interest in Bedouin polygyny, Ginat developed an association with members of two polygynous Mormon groups in the Rocky Mountain region. Several years ago we decided to collaborate on a study of Mormon plural families, with particular emphasis on developmental and environmental aspects of husband-wife and wife-wife relationships. Before addressing philosophical and theoretical aspects of this work, it may be useful to outline the history and present status of polygy- ny among Mormon fundamentalists. II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The Mormon religion, officially known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS church or Mormon church), is a * Distinguished Professor of Psychology, University of Utah. BA. 1951, New York University; MA. 1954, University of Maryland; PhD. 1957, University of Maryland. This Article is based on IRwiN ALTMAN & JOSEPH GINAT, PoLYGAMous FAMLrEs IN CONTEMPORARY Socwff (1996). 367

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