Full Citation
Title: African American Marital Disruption: What's History Got to Do With It?
Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis
Publication Year: 2005
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Abstract: The existence of family formation differences between African Americans and non-African Americans is not a new phenomenon. However, in the years since Emancipation there have been substantial evolutions in those differences. This study uses data from the U.S. Census and the National Survey of Families and Households to examine the role of historically-persisting factors as causes of evolving racial differences in marital disruption. Consistent with previous research I find that the magnitude of the racial marital disruption gap grew until the middle of the 20th century. However, new methodology that I employ to examine Census data shows that growth in Black/non-Black differences in the frequency of marital disruption stopped around mid-century and, in fact, narrowed by about one-third between 1950 and 1980. In neither the pre- nor post-1950 periods can changes in observed measures account for more than a small fraction of the overall change in the disruption gap. In this study I demonstrate how racial differences in outcomes may change even in the absence of corresponding changes in racial differences in causal factors. Persisting inter-group differences in characteristics that influence family formation have varying impacts depending on the broader social context. Focusing on the historical contingency of causal effects, I develop and test theories of how persisting differences in both observed and unobserved group factors contributed to changes in the Black/non-Black marital disruption gap over the course of the 20th Century.
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Authors: Clarkwest, Andrew
Institution: Harvard University
Department: Department of Social Policy
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Degree: Doctor of Philosophy
Publisher Location: Cambridge, MA
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Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Family and Marriage, Race and Ethnicity
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