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Rural family constellations in Cuba are studied from the psychobiological point of view. The study does not cover all rural areas, but primarily some of the Indian communities. The mother bears the children of several fathers, one father disappearing as another appears. Comparisons are made to the lives of the urban lower, middle, and upper classes. The conclusion is that the psychobiological impact of these rapid changes is manifested in the children. Children grow up without a clear father image; there is a poor masculine identification in the males. The father's main interest is earning more money and the children therefore understand a man's role simply as the provider of money and material things. The burden of child rearing falls on the mother. The mother representation in the child is that of a domineering, phallic type.
The mother does not obtain emotional security from the husband, and consistently seeks psychological help in raising children. Behavior difficulties, especially in the males, are common with increasing numbers of adolescents with severe homosexual problems and delinquency. In the girls, there tends to be lack of understanding of what it means to be a woman. In children of both sexes there is defective development of ego functions and defective childparent relations.