Family Stability and Occupational Success

The effects of family stability in the parental generation, as indexed by the presence of both parents in the childhood home, on the marital and occupational statuses of American adult males in 1962 are measured for Negro and non-Negro men, respectively. The experience of growing up in an intact family does not increase the probability that a man will be found living with his wife in adulthood, but it increases the probability that he will be pursuing an occupation that ranks relatively high in the socioeconomic structure. Men raised in intact families not only have superior job qualifications, but also translate their educational attainment into occupational achievement more efficiently than do men of the same race who grew up in families headed by females.