Differentials in Marital Instability of the Black Population: 1970

TN A RECENT ARTICLE the authors of this paper have documented differential marital stability among whites on the basis of data uniquely appropriate for the study of marital disruption.' In the present paper, that analysis is extended to the black population. We first examine differentials in separation and divorce among blacks, comparing these differentials to those among whites (sociological discussion of the independent variables developed in that paper will not be repeated here except when relevant to differing patterns between whites and blacks); we then briefly consider the extent to which aggregate black-white differences in marital instability result from composition differences on the variables considered. The paper concludes with a methodological analysis of alternative definitions of instability, with particular focus on the measurement of black-white differences.