PONE-D-22-26419Polygynous Marriage Union among Ghanaian Christian Women: Socio-demographic PredictorsPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Alhassan,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process

The references should be reviewed. I believe that at least 70 percent of the references should not be older than five years. There are very old references in the article.

There are many grammatical errors in the article, and there is a need to involve someone proficient in the English language to review the paper before sending the corrected version back to Plos One Journal.

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Innocent Ijezie Chukwuonye, MBBS, FMCP (Internal Medicine)

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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Comments to the Author

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: I Don't Know

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

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Reviewer #1: Polygynous Marriage Union among Ghanaian Christian Women: Socio-demographic Predictors

Background

• I would have liked to see more on implications of polygyny socially, demographically, and with respect to sexual and reproductive health.

• The author should improve upon the language throughout the document.

• If feasible more recent literature should be used [examples of old literature: Holst, 1967; Okorje, 1994; Strassmann, 1997].

Methods

Were demographic and health survey data for Ghana used for analysis? If so, were weights applied during data analysis?

Results

The “majority” apply to over 50%. Please see for instance the section on “Prevalence of Christian women involved in a polygyny marriage”.

Discussion

Discuss the prevalence of polygyny and compare it with Islam and Christians countries in the region.

This section requires significant improvement. Findings and literature are presented again without modification or appropriate discussion. For instance see the first and second paragraphs of the discussion.

The explanation of the association between age and polygyny is not clear. “Age may influence the prevalence of polygyny (Okorje, 1994; Strassmann, 1997). Many studies have identified polygyny as one of the factors that influence early marriage (Ahinkorah, 2021; Gaffney-Rhys, 2012).” What were the author’s assumptions?

In this case polygyny appears to be associated with low socio-economic status (rural, low levels of education .... ) the results should be discussed further rather than just presenting the literature and findings.

Ethnicity is closely associated with culture. What are some of the specific cultural issues among the ethnic groups that could be linked to polygyny?

What are the implications of this: “Ghana's male-to-female ratio was 102.79 males per 100 females in 2020, up from 102.62 males per 100 females in 2015, representing a 0.16 percent increase (Index mundi, 2021).” How does this relate to the study? Important but please provide an explanation.

“Lastly, women with a history of being in union more than once were more likely to engage in polygyny marriage unions compared to those without. This means that once married, women prefer polygynous marriage to being single and promiscuous sex.” Do the women “prefer” or “resort” to polygynous marriages?

Limitations

If this is demographic survey data, the author should consider the variables: wealth quintile and occupation. The author should explore the dataset and include the variable in the analysis.

Reviewer #2: Abstract

The abstract is a true reflection of the overall study as presented.

Introduction

Literature review is satisfactory and is focused and aligned with the topic and objective.

The justification for the study was satisfactory.

Methodology

The authors should have given a brief socio-demographic description of Ghana, since it is national study, highlighting religious background of the country.

Ethical considerations for the study was adequate.

Results

The analysis and findings are in tandem with objective of the study.

The presentation of the results is not satisfactory; the percentages should be included in table 2.

However, the variables in the tables should be placed directly above the subcategories, to enhance readability. For instance.

Factors associated with polygyny

Age of respondent

15-19

20-24

25-29

Discussions/Conclusions

Page 11 paragrah 2, was repeated verbatim in page 15 paragraph 2.

Since the study population were Christians, the authors should have included comparison with findings among Christians elsewhere or other religious groups in addition to Ghana’s general population.

Otherwise, the discussion was satisfactory and was based on the findings from the analysis.

References

Most of the references are relevant and up to date.

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: Yes: Ugochukwu Onyeonoro

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PONE-D-22-26419R1Polygynous Marriage Union among Ghanaian Christian Women: Socio-demographic PredictorsPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Alhassan,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

Your method of referencing did not adhere to that recommended by PLOS journals, and in addition, they are not numbered. Please read the method of referencing recommended by the PLoS One journal on the relevant page on our website, and make the appropriate corrections.

Please submit your revised manuscript by May 20 2023 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org. When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.

Please include the following items when submitting your revised manuscript:

• A rebuttal letter that responds to each point raised by the academic editor and reviewer(s). You should upload this letter as a separate file labeled 'Response to Reviewers'.
• A marked-up copy of your manuscript that highlights changes made to the original version. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Revised Manuscript with Track Changes'.
• An unmarked version of your revised paper without tracked changes. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Manuscript'.

If you would like to make changes to your financial disclosure, please include your updated statement in your cover letter. Guidelines for resubmitting your figure files are available below the reviewer comments at the end of this letter.

If applicable, we recommend that you deposit your laboratory protocols in protocols.io to enhance the reproducibility of your results. Protocols.io assigns your protocol its own identifier (DOI) so that it can be cited independently in the future. For instructions see: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/submission-guidelines#loc-laboratory-protocols. Additionally, PLOS ONE offers an option for publishing peer-reviewed Lab Protocol articles, which describe protocols hosted on protocols.io. Read more information on sharing protocols at https://plos.org/protocols?utm_medium=editorial-email&utm_source=authorletters&utm_campaign=protocols.

We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Kind regards,

Innocent Ijezie Chukwuonye, MBBS, FMCP(Internal Medicine)

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Journal Requirements:

Please review your reference list to ensure that it is complete and correct. If you have cited papers that have been retracted, please include the rationale for doing so in the manuscript text, or remove these references and replace them with relevant current references. Any changes to the reference list should be mentioned in the rebuttal letter that accompanies your revised manuscript. If you need to cite a retracted article, indicate the article’s retracted status in the References list and also include a citation and full reference for the retraction notice.

While revising your submission, please upload your figure files to the Preflight Analysis and Conversion Engine (PACE) digital diagnostic tool, https://pacev2.apexcovantage.com/. PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at figures@plos.org. Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step.

Polygynous Marriage Union among Ghanaian Christian Women: Socio-demographic Predictors

PONE-D-22-26419R2

Dear Dr. Alhassan,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

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Kind regards,

Innocent Ijezie Chukwuonye, MBBS, FMCP(Internal Medicine)

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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