Reviews trends and research findings related to marriage and divorce, unwed parenthood, labor force participation of women, and life expectancy to assess their implications for family policy. Outlines number of policy and programmatic measures as ways of helping to bring about more equitable distribution of well-being among diverse groups of…

Examined attitudes of 20 divorced mothers about becoming their families' breadwinners. Attitudes toward breadwinning varied according to 3 marital history types: segregated, modified-segregated, and primarily wife-shaped. Findings showed that mothers from segregated marriages had the greatest difficulty accepting the breadwinner role. (TE)