The decline in marriage among African Americans : causes, consequences, and policy implications / [edited by] M. Belinda Tucker and Claudia Mitchell-Kernan.

Format
Book
Language
English
Published/​Created
New York : Russell Sage Foundation, ©1995.
Description
xxiv, 397 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Availability

Available Online

Copies in the Library

Location Call Number Status Location Service Notes
Stokes Library - Wallace Hall (SPR) E185.86 .D43 1995 Browse related items Request

    Details

    Subject(s)
    Summary note
    • The original, often controversial, research presented in this book links marital decline to a pivotal drop in the pool of marriageable black males. Increased joblessness has robbed many black men of their economic viability, rendering them not only less desirable as mates, but also less inclined to take on the responsibility of marriage. Higher death rates resulting from disease, poor health care, and violent crime, as well as evergrowing incarceration rates, have further depleted the male population. In documenting their observations, editors M. Belinda Tucker and Claudia Mitchell-Kernan and the contributors take a hard look at the effects of chronic economic instability on cultural attitudes toward the male role as family provider. Their cogent historical analyses suggest that the influence of external circumstances over marriage preferences stems in large part from the profoundly damaging experience of slavery.
    • The Decline in Marriage Among African Americans firmly positions declining marriage within an ominous cycle of economic and social erosion that finds increasing numbers of women struggling to raise children and manage families alone. The authors of concluding essays propose specific policies for relieving the problems associated with changing marital behavior, focusing on economic and healthcare support for single parent families, improved public education, and expanded employment opportunities for African American men.
    Bibliographic references
    Includes bibliographical references and index.
    Contents
    • Trends in African American family formation : a theoretical and statistical overview / M. Belinda Tucker and Claudia Mitchell-Kernan
    • Black family structure in colonial and antebellum Virginia : amending the revisionist perspective / Brenda E. Stevenson
    • The effect of employment on marriage among Black males in inner-city Chicago / Mark Testa and Marilyn Krogh. Commentary / Sheldon Danziger
    • The widening gap between Black and white marriage rates : context and implications / Robert Schoen. Commentary / David M. Heer
    • Mate availability and marriage among African Americans : aggregate- and individual-level analyses / K. Jill Kiecolt and Mark A. Fossett. Commentary / A. Wade Smith
    • Marital behavior and expectations : ethnic comparisons of attitudinal and structural correlates / M. Belinda Tucker and Claudia Mitchell-Kernan. Commentary / James S. Jackson
    • Marital instability among Black and white couples in early marriage / Shirley Hatchett, Joseph Veroff, and Elizabeth Douvan
    • Commentary / Hector F. Myers
    • Unemployment and imbalanced sex ratios : race-specific consequences for family structure and crime / Robert J. Sampson. Commentary / Melvin L. Oliver
    • Family structure and the marginalization of Black men : policy implications / William A. Darity, Jr., and Samuel L. Myers, Jr. Commentary / Philip J. Bowman
    • Policy implications of a decline in marriage among African Americans / Lynn C. Burbridge
    • African American marital trends in context : toward a synthesis / M. Belinda Tucker and Claudia Mitchell-Kernan.
    ISBN
    • 0871548879 ((alk. paper))
    • 9780871548870 ((alk. paper))
    • 0871548860 ((pbk. ; : alk. paper))
    • 9780871548863 ((pbk. ; : alk. paper))
    LCCN
    94039624
    OCLC
    31375063
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