Bieńko, Mariola2012-12-282012-12-282008Roczniki Socjologii Rodziny, 2008/2009, tom 19, s. 71-900867-2059http://hdl.handle.net/10593/4075Profound changes of values, norms, attitudes and behaviour within post-industrial societies have changed the nature of bonding in the marital community. Certainly, traditional ideas of marriage have been destabilised. Actual marriage is a complex mix of various types, and the mix itself may be unstable. Each couple has a preference for one or other type, either provisionally or permanently. In the contractual pattern of marriage everything depends on the benefits that each spouse will derive from the relationship. Combining many roles (of a parent, friend, sexual partner) certainly requires social acceptance and policies to enable their satisfactory fulfillment. Simultaneously, popular beliefs and scholary paradigms stress that multiple roles in a couple are not clearly defined. Contemporarily we may observe the women's and men's traditional marital domains permeate and complement each other. The article presents a report of empirical study on expectation and realisation of marital roles. This piece of research is part of a project focusing on the perception of marital friendship. The results of the study revealed a descriptive map of similarities and differences in attitude toward the construction of spouse's identity.plArtykuł