The present study drives at exposing the significance of environmental, social, and psychological variables that affect the functional role of the spouse in family, which requires also exposing the shortness aspects of the couples through this main objective: the attempt to identify the environmental variables associated with the functional role of the spouse through a comparative-field study between rural and urban areas. The study sample consists of (100) rural and urban families, divided into (50 rural families and 50 urban families), selected from villages of (Tanamel – Agaa Center – Dakahlia governorate). The researcher uses the descriptive-exploratory method, using some tools for collecting data: (Observation – interview– and case study guide). Regarding the theoretical framework, the study uses more than one theory for fulfilling the research, using the role theory, the structural theory, and the functional theory, in addition to the interactive symbolic theory, and conflict theory.
The study reaches many results as follows:
1-   There is a difference between the functional role of the spouse in rural traditional family and their role in the urban family.
2-   The case study results show that functional role of the spouse in rural families are unified more obviously than the cases in urban families.
3-   The results also show that going out for work doesn't only change the role of the wife but there are other factors affecting this role including awareness and education level.
4-   The spouse' functional role in rural families is associated with family organization pattern in making decisions, holding various activities more than being connected to the mutual family pattern.
The study comes to multiple recommendations which most important are:
1-   The necessity for raising the couples' educational level.
2-   The necessity for giving more concern to the family guidance programs directed to the spouse.