The racial crossover in family complexity in the United States.
This article examines the evolution of the black extended family by documenting a black-white crossover in the proportions of unmarried adults living in complex households after the middle of the twentieth century. We demonstrate significant racial differences in the trends in complex house-hold residence over the life course, characterized by far greater declines in complex living among whites, particularly at younger ages. In this context, the higher level of family extension that recent research has found typifies black families is both a relatively new phenomenon and one that is not just limited to single-parent families; it characterizes all ages, those with and without children, and men as well as women.
Goldscheider
Frances K
FK
Department of Sociology, Brown University, Maxcy Hall, Box 1916, Providence, RI 02912, USA. Frances_Goldscheider@Brown.edu
Bures
Regina M
RM
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D044383:Black People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002648:Child; D005190:Family / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001741:Black or African American