West Indian family organization has been observed to exhibit relatively greater instances of brittle common law unions, out-of-wedlock births, and female headed households than is the case with other New World populations. Three primary explanations have been given to explain the presence of these patterns: the retention or reinterpretation of African sociocultural patterns; the effects of slavery; and the adaption to economic marginality. All of these arguments, however, support the view that such patterns are dysfunctional or maladaptive in the industrial or industrializing society. This paper used a Jamaican case study to document an opposing view. The main argument here is that flexibility in West Indian domestic patterns promotes greater survival in the change from a subsistence to a cash economy. The foundation of this survival strategy is the kinship system. Kinship provides individuals with rights and obligation to others in terms of support. This support is provided primarily through household flexibility. Conjugality acts to extend the kinship system, that is, the more unions established, the greater the growth of this support system. (Author)