Polygyny is practised in vastly different cultural contexts, including in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The literature is contradictory, arguing that polygyny is either protective against HIV or a critical risk factor. Neither argument accounts for the diversity of polygyny. Even less attention has been paid to polygynous marriages with mixed HIV status (serodiscordance). This paper draws on a longitudinal study of the socio-cultural aspects of biomedicine among HIV serodiscordant couples and polygynous spouses in PNG. Findings revealed that polygynous marriages manifested in different constellations that need to be considered when seeking to understand variations of living with HIV and how prevention practices align with global biomedical messages. We argue that polygyny in PNG is too complex to be framed as either protective or risky in relation to HIV. Our findings highlight the importance of locally specific explorations of serodiscordant polygyny and HIV risk, to strengthen PNG’s HIV prevention efforts.

中文翻译：

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巴布亚新几内亚的一夫多妻制，血脂异常和HIV预防：对多种形态的定性探索

一夫多妻制在非常不同的文化背景下实行，包括在巴布亚新几内亚（PNG）。文献相互矛盾，认为一夫多妻制既可以预防HIV感染，又可以作为危险因素。两种论点都不能解释一夫多妻制的多样性。对艾滋病毒混合状况（血清不和谐）的一夫多妻婚姻的关注甚至更少。本文对PNG的HIV血清伴侣和多性配偶中生物医学的社会文化方面进行了纵向研究。研究结果表明，一夫多妻制婚姻表现在不同的星座中，当试图了解艾滋病毒感染者的生活差异以及预防措施如何与全球生物医学信息相一致时，就需要考虑这一点。我们认为，巴布亚新几内亚的一夫多妻制过于复杂，以至于不能将其描述为对艾滋病毒具有保护性或风险性。我们的发现凸显了对血清蛇纹石一夫多妻制和HIV风险进行本地化探索的重要性，以加强PNG的HIV预防工作。