This research would integrate four areas: First, the theoretical and empirical efforts in the area of expectancy-value formulations as applied to contraceptive choice behavior; second consumer decision making, especially that of the joint decisions made by marital partners; third, research and theorizing in the area of the nature of the marital relationship; and, fourth, racial or ethnic differences in (a) values and expectancies regarding contraceptives and (b) joint decision making styles. This initiative is designed to benefit from (and piggyback upon) a larger longitudinal investigation of the first three areas currently being conducted with 360 white couples of varying education, marital type, SES backgrounds. A crucial issue is whether or not findings in the initial study will be generalizable to different ethnic and racial groups. Critical questions regarding similarities and differences in expectancies and values vis-a-vis contraceptives, and similarities and differences vis-a-vis joint decision making style make a study of the racial comparisons essential. Data necessary for the project require interviewing 120 black couples both individually as regards their own expectancies and values regarding contraceptive choice, the perceptions each partner has about the other's expectancies and values, and, lastly, joint decision making regarding the important parameters of the characteristics of different contraceptive alternatives. A longitudinal assessment is planned requiring the above procedure to be accomplished three times within a 12-month period. To allow comparisons with the initial 360 couples, sexually active couples with women's ages ranging from 18 to 27 for one half of the sample and 35 to 44 for the second half of the sample are desired. Addresses will be randomly selected from a social areal analysis. An enumeration has already been done for the larger project. Analysis will focus upon racial and ethnic comparisons as well as the explanatory power of expectancy-value decision making framework.