THIS SURVEY IS THE RESULT OF A TEN-YEAR ANALYSIS OF VARIOUS ASPECTS OF CONJUGAL VISITING, PRIMARILY IN THE U.S. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONJUGAL VISIT AT PARCHMAN FARM IS TRACED TO ITS PRESENT STATUS AND ITS INFLUENCE ON PRISONERS AND THEIR FAMILIES IS COMPARED WITH PRISONERS WHO HAVE NOT RECEIVED SUCH TREATMENT. THE PROGRAM IS ALSO RELATED TO PRISON ORGANIZATION AND PRISONIZATION. ALTHOUGH THE CONJUGAL VISIT DOES NOT FULFILL THE PRISONERS TOTAL SEXUAL NEEDS, IT DOES AID IN MAINTAINING INMATE MALE SELF-IMAGE AND REDUCES THE NEED FOR HOMOSEXUAL RELATIONS. THE AUTHOR FEELS THAT CONJUGAL VISITING IS NOT UNREALISTIC FOR THE AMERICAN CULTURE.