F \ LE COpy DO NOT REMOVE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NEGRO AND WHITE WOMEN ' IN MARITAL STAB ILITY AND FAMILY STRUCTURE : A MULTIPLE REGRESSION ANALYSIS

Preface The hypothesis of this paper is that the differences between Negroes and whites in the incidence of family disorganization are a function of race as a summary statement of their differential social-ecological positions. Using the 1/1000 Census tape for 1960, multiple regressions were run for various indicators of family disorganization on race and dimensions of social-ecological position: age, region of birth, region of residence, SMSA status and mobility, years since first marriage, education, and poverty status. Comparisons were made of the relationship between race and family disorganization for the simple regression, the multiple regression without the poverty index, and the full regression. The analysis suggests the following conclusions: 1. About half of the Negro-white differential in family dis-organization can be accounted for by their differential location in the social-ecological structure, and about half of that differential 1S due to poverty status alone. 2. A mean difference in family disorganization between Negroes and whites does remain, but race contributes little to the variance 'explained by the full regression. In terms of policy implications, this paper suggests that if we are concerned with family organization and its effect on social and economic behavior, we should not develop policies that are focused on Negroes as a group"with some special characteristics of family organization. Rather we should develop policies aimed at changing the social-ecological conditions that affect family organization irrespective of race.