What Pluralization of Family Relations ? Conflicts, Conjugal Interaction. Styles, and Social Milieu
pp. 131-156
In the 1970s and 1980s, a number of studies brought to light a variety of family interaction styles characteristic of contemporary societies. Which of them have lasted ? How are they related to the social structure ? What problems and conflicts are they likely to bring about ? This article aims to answer those questions on the basis of a large representative sample indicating couples’ social and generational characteristics. Five styles were empirically identified, associated with sharply varied frequency levels for problems and open conflict. Prevalent conjugal conflict coincides with a strong tendency for spouse or partner autonomy, sex-differentiated roles, and couple self-enclosure. These results are largely due to the differential effect of the conflict-management modes inherent in the various interaction styles, these in turn influenced by couples’ social characteristics and position. No increasing standardization of conjugal interaction modes was observed ; indeed, advanced modernity seems characterized instead by several fairly distinct models highly dependent on position in the social structure.
