A study of the socioeconomic status of households headed by women was conducted based upon data obtained from the National Longitudinal Surveys (NLS) of Labor Market Experience. (Since the mid-1960s NLS has been following labor market experiences of four cohorts of persons including male and female youth and mature men and women.) This study used data from both the younger cohort of women (aged 14-24 when first interviewed) and the older cohort of women (ages 30-44 when first interviewed). Each of the cohorts included about 5,000 individuals, with an overrepresentation of blacks in each. The findings indicated that marital disruption is an economic disaster to many women. On average, family income is cut in half during te transition year when divorce, separation, or death of husband occurs. Also pointed out was that black female heads of households are more severely disadvantaged in the labor market than are whites. Black women heading households are less likely to be employed. The transition from marriage to head of household usually results in an increase in employment for mature white women, but a decline for blacks. Moreover, black women who are working hold lower status jobs than their white counterparts. Overall, the economic differences between mature black and white women heads of households reflected that black women were less likely to have completed high school and more likely to have a health problem limiting the amount or kind of work they could do. (Author/BM)