An analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Study (NLS) was conducted to determine whether marital disruption (by death, divorce, or separation) caused poverty in the early years after a marriage ends and whether the poverty was long-term or short-term. The study examined data on women who had experienced a disruption before 1967 and were not remarried by 1972 and on women whose marriages ended between 1967 and 1972. The study found that most women had been married for ten to twenty years and had children at home when their marriages ended. The end of the marriage was related to a decline in the average economic welfare of the families involved. About 40% of all white women who did not remarry over the seven-year period were poor at least once; probably 15 to 20% were continually poor or close to poverty. The situation was found to be far worse with black women. At any one time, 55 to 60% of the sample studied were poor by standard definition. At least 45% of black women were poor during most of the period covered by the interviews. Nearly two-thirds of the women who were not poor (from both racial groups) depended primarily upon their own earnings. The results of the survey indicated that special legislation to provide counseling and training programs for displaced homemakers is warranted. The report concluded, however, that proposed legislation defined "displaced homemaker" too narrowly to benefit all who need assistance. (BM)