In order to understand the meaning of wives' labor force participation for dual-earner families and the consequences of that participation, the breadwinner role must be conceptualized more clearly and the concept used more precisely. Researchers must abandon their assumption that all wives who are in the labor force are breadwinners and instead…

Using 1975 and 1976 data from the Michigan Panel Study of Income Dynamics, this study examines the significance of the 1975 recession for families with children under 18. This study attempted to ascertain what families with children were most susceptible to having an unemployed breadwinner in 1975 and why some family heads were more susceptible to…

Extensive economic changes may be brought about by divorce. In an attempt to demonstrate that the degree of financial dislocation following divorce depends on three factors--custody arrangements, wife's employment, and social class--data on men's and women's employment, income, and support payments were gathered for 222 divorcing families. Total…

In 1980 the poverty rates for women were about one and a half times greater than those for men. Between 1950 and 1980 the degree of inequality between the sexes increased by about 30 percent. This paper describes those trends, focusing on the sex of the individual rather than sex of the household head. It also examines differences in the risk of…

A growing number of families are headed by single women. A longitudinal study was conducted to identify major goals of these women. Data from mailed questionnaires and telephone interviews were collected from 136 divorced women. Results from the first year of the study revealed the goal most often identified by the women was financial…

Family headship has not been systematically investigated in the sociology of the family, yet "head of the family" is a meaningful phrase to most people. A survey of adults (N=464) in Ontario revealed that only two percent of the respondents did not understand the term. Other data showed that traditional male-dominated authority patterns…

Using data from the 1976 Annual Housing Survey, this paper presents information on housing for 1,865,000 households headed by persons under 65 that include one or more dependents aged 65 or over. It also provides data that will aid in the critical evaluation of the merits of federal programs designed to provide financial incentives for families…

The rapid increase in the number of families with two wage-earners has contributed significantly to changes in family structure and function in the past three decades; a current belief holds that wives who share the income-earner role have a right to expect more assistance from their husbands with such family tasks as meal preparations, cleaning,…

A crisis exists in the black family today due to the high unemployment of black men, the high separation rates of parents, the dramatic increase in the number of unwed mothers, and the subsequent heading of nearly one-half of black families by women. There is nothing necessarily wrong with being raised in a home with a single mother. Biographies…

Stress appears to jeopardize mental health and maternal behavior and indirectly to jeopardize the mother-child relationship by increasing the risk of maternal depression. An intensive study investigated the stresses experienced by low-income mothers. While both life event and life condition stress were strongly associated with depression, life…

This paper discusses a study to determine patterns of residential segregation by sex in Washington, D.C. over a 30 year period. Objectives were to explain statistically sex ratio distribution in housing, identify unsuspected sex discrimination processes affecting urban populations, and to clarify residential clustering. Washington, D.C. was…

This paper discusses the "Better Jobs and Income Act," President Carter's proposed welfare reform bill. Brief attention is given to speculation on "first order effects" of the bill. Effects considered concern the equity and the adequacy of the bill. Major attention is directed toward "second order effects,"…

This paper considers the rising phenomenon of one-parent, female-headed households in Georgia, identifies family service needs of these families, and explores availability of services. Female-headed families account for 16.4% of all families in Georgia, making it second-highest in the nation. From 1970 to 1980, the number of female-headed families…

Provides an economic analysis of the status of African-American males, arguing that the precarious economic position of African-American males is the leading cause of single female-headed households in African-American communities. Marginalization processes based on low employment have pushed African-American males away from marriage. (SLD)

This study analyzes the results of a survey conducted on the participation of Colombian migrant households in the New York City labor market and the occupational mobility of these men and women in that labor market. It focuses on the socioeconomic dimensions of their migration on three levels: (1) macroeconomic--concerning the New York City labor…