Perception of family among Bedouin-Arab children of polygamous families as reflected in their family drawings

This study examined the family drawings of 20 Israeli Bedouin-Arab children from polygamous families. The drawings revealed that these children divided their main family into sub-families by lines, colors, and by either using one-half of the page to draw their biological family and the other half to draw the other sub-families, or by using the back of the page to draw the other sub-families. The biological mothers' figures were larger and placed higher on the page than the other wives in the polygamous family. Children of senior wives indicated their mothers' seniority, whereas children of junior wives tended to ignore this social status. Thirty-six percent of the children did not draw the father at all. All of these children were found to be the children of the most senior wife. In the remaining 54% of the children, who drew their fathers, the father figure was smaller in size than the figure of the biological mother, regardless of its placement on the page. These results are discussed in terms of the development of psychological well-being and a sense of self.