Characteristics of Negro Mothers in Single-Headed Households

This study contrasts the adjustment and attitudes of mothers in broken and intact families and evaluates the possible effects of these characteristics on their children. Data analyzed in this paper are based on interviews conducted in the Negro community of a large, northern urban center. Mothers in the two types of family situations were compared on educational status, prevalence of psychoneurotic symptoms, scores on a self-esteem index, reference group behavior, and measures of goal-striving stress associated with goals for self and a hypothetical son. In general, these analyses indicated that, compared to mothers in intact families, mothers in the broken family situation had poorer psychological adjustment and less involvement in goals for self and a hypothetical son. These characteristics may have important implications for the achievement-related attitudes of children raised in female-headed households

Developmental psychology · Sociology · Demography · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Homelessness and Social Issues · Psychology · Social Psychology · Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies

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