Personality patterns of couples practicing the temperature‐rhythm method of birth control∗

Abstract

This study investigated reactions to the temperature‐rhythm method of birth control, attitudes toward sex in general, sexual behavior patterns, and personality dynamics in 92 American couples who had been employing this method for an average of 4 years, 9 months. Husbands and wives independently completed several scales, including Byrne's Revised Repression‐Sensitization scale, Rotter's I‐E scale, a sexual behavior inventory, an Attitude Toward Sex scale, and a Reaction to the Temperature‐Rhythm Method scale. The temperature‐rhythm method was found to be generally acceptable despite difficulty with periodic sexual abstinence. There was relatively low response concordance between husbands and wives. Couples who had unplanned pregnancies or defected from the program also reported less satisfaction with the method and were more liberal in their sexual attitudes than those who did not have such pregnancies and did not defect.