ABSTRACT
Conjugal life is a highly variegated and complex experience, and each of its aspects can be examined in great detail; only a careful evaluation of the many aspects of family interaction can present a really full and valid picture of family life. This chapter explores the concept of conjugal role-relationship as central in characterization of the family life of the couples studied. It shows variations in marital relations from class to class, and sheds light on the psychosocial background of large and small family preferences, effective and ineffective contraceptive practice, and choice of contraceptive method. The role-relationship types is characteristic of particular social classes—the joint relationship is most characteristic of the upper-middle class, the segregated relationship of the lower-lower class, and the intermediate type of the lower-middle and upper-lower class. The pattern of role-segregation characteristic of the lower-lower class has been implied at various points in contrast with the role-organization patterns of the other classes.
