Widmer,E. and Kellerhals,J. and Levy,R. (2006). Types of conjugal interactions and conjugal conflict: A longitudinal assessment. European sociological review, vol. 22, n° 1, pp. 79-89.
This paper deals with the diversity of contemporary family interactions and its consequences with regard to conjugal conflict, on the basis of a large and longitudinal survey on married and unmarried couples, conducted in Switzerland at the turn of the millennium. Using clus- ter analysis, we first define five types of conjugal interaction (Bastion, Companionship, Cocoon, Association, and Parallel). The types of conjugal interactions characterized by a strong emphasis on partners’ autonomy trigger in the short term a significantly larger number of problems and conflicts. Conjugal dissatisfaction and separation are more likely in Associative and Parallel types of functioning. Overall, results show that conjugal modernity expresses itself through various models, each with specific functional consequences.