Race, Class, and Family Structure: The Case of Family Income

Abstract

African Americans continue to represent one of the most disadvantaged groups in the United States, lagging behind whites on most measures of well-being. Most explanations for the black-white disparity focus on the continued effects of racial discrimination. Other explanations attribute disadvantage to differences in social class origins or family structures. This study provides a critical test of the “racial discrimination,” “social class,” and “family structure” perspectives in regard to family income using data from the 1968 and 1988 Current Population Surveys. Major findings include: 1) race continued to have a negative effect on family income after controls in both 1968 and 1988; 2) race declined in importance by a very modest amount from 1968 to 1988; 3) in both 1968 and 1988, the negative effect of race was stronger for higher-status African Americans than for lower-status African Americans; and 4) the negative effect of race was greater for married-couple families than for female-headed families. Explanations for the findings are offered.

The experience of worry in parent–adult child relationships

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“…This increase in single mother black families has raiscd the economic vulnerability of black women in present-day American society. Income inequality in terms of family type and other social features is larger among black families than among white families (Thomas and Horton, 1992).…”

Too Good to Be True? The Unintended Signaling Effects of Educational Prestige on External Expectations of Team Performance

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