ABSTRACT
Mexican, urban society couples have been immersed in rapid processes of change, involving an extreme clash of values, beliefs and models for living. On one hand, the values of the traditional family prevail. Couples look to continue a close relationship with the extended family, following tradition and sustaining unity. On the other hand, people are now being immersed, from a very young age, in the individualistic and global development paradigm, which promotes professional and economic success, individuality, more time for social rather than family relationships, and distribution of authority and labor between its members. Couples in Mexico are caught in the middle, trying to achieve a balance between these two forces: On the one hand, the pressure to form a stable couple that sustains and nurtures the family and that adheres to traditional beliefs and values. On the other hand the demand of economic, professional and social development to be individualistic.
