Census and vital statistics data for U.S. metropolitan areas in 1980 were analyzed to investigate the effects of mate availability mens and womens levels of socioeconomic status and employment level of public assistance population size and region on several aspects of family formation and family structure among African Americans. As predicted by theory mate availability as measured by the sex ratio had a positive effect on marriage prevalence for women and a negative effect on marriage prevalence for men....Mens socioeconomic status had positive effects on mens and womens marriage prevalence the prevalence of husband-wife families the percentage of children residing in husband-wife families and the percentage of marital births. Womens socioeconomic status and level of public assistance had negative effects on these variables. We conclude that mate availability mens socioeconomic status womens status and economic independence are important determinants of African American family formation and family structure. (EXCERPT)
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Fossett et al. (1993) studied this question.