Indicates that the increase in female-headed households was accounted for by childless women who are ineligible for public assistance benefits. Although the public assistance system has become more generous, a married woman who becomes a female head can expect a substantial drop in her economic level. (Author)

Examines the likelihood of extended joblessness for breadwinners unemployed during the recession of 1975. Women who head families are more likely to be unemployed for an extended period than are male breadwinners. Family heads with young children are more likely to be unemployed than those with older families. (Author/BEF)

A study of parent-absent families in which a mapping sentence is presented which distinguishes between six facets concerning the nature of the absence and two facets which relate to its effects. On the basis of these concepts comparative studies can be conducted and findings generalized. (Author)

Examined effects of household structure on labor force status of female heads of families with minor children using the March 1985 Current Population Survey. Results suggest that models of labor force behavior are misspecified if female heads of families are not analyzed separately by race and marital status. (Author/ABL)

Summarizes data from 1990 Current Population Survey supporting three general conclusions: (1) parental employment and children's poverty are linked in married-couple and female-headed families; (2) child poverty rates are insensitive to parental employment; (3) black-white differences in child poverty are not result of racial differences in…

This article attempts to evaluate, critically, the scattered findings on divorced women as single parents and on the family units they head, and to re-examine effects of stigma on these families. (Author)

Examines increases in dissolved marriages among families in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics between 1969 and 1978, considering changes in cohort composition of heads of households and changes in the female's role in the family. Discusses implications of results for use of life-event variables in accounting for divorce. (NRB)

Examines the effect of family structure on the probability of exiting from welfare. Family structure is shown to have a sizable impact upon exiting welfare in both an aggregate and multivariate context, with female-headed families least likely to exit from public assistance. (Author/ABB)

This study analyzes urban-rural variations in Philippine household size and components of household size, as well as the relative contribution of these components to household size. Household size is larger in urban than in rural areas and the difference largely reflects the presence of extended family members and non-relatives. (Author)

In a family with a physically absent father, a high degree of psychological father presence relates to wife dysfunction and family dysfunction. The wife's instrumental personal qualities may be even more important in closing-out the father role and reorganizing her family. (Author)

This paper examines the factors which determine whether or not married couples or unmarried adults head their own households. It also discusses causes of the rise in headship rates since 1940. Headship rates were found to vary by sex, location, and earnings level. (Author)

This paper examines black and white female heads of families interviewed in 1967 in a national longitudinal sample of women, age 30-44. Results suggest poor women and women dependent upon AFDC, child support and other stigmatizing, unstable sources of income feel less able to plan for their lives. (Author)

Mortality is lower for married persons than for nonmarried persons; lower for married persons with children than for those without children; and lower for nonmarried persons who are household heads than for those who are not heads. Two explanations are considered. (Author)

Examined the relationship between family headship and stress. Data from the Michigan Panel Study of Income Dynamics conclude that single female heads with children experience more stress than their married male counterparts. Higher incidence of major life events experienced by female heads is primarily a function of marital disruption. (Author/JAC)

Examines aspects of mother-only families. Finds high economic insecurity in mother-only families because of low earnings, lack of child support and meager public benefits. Argues that struggle of mother-only families reflects societal struggles around changes in women's roles, relationship between state and family, and class and racial inequality.…