THE ORIGINS OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN FAMILY-STRUCTURE

I use a new data source, the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, t o trace race differences in family structure between 1880 and 1980. An alysis confirms recent findings that the high incidence among African- Americans of single parenthood and children residing without their par ents is not a recent phenomenon. From 1880 through 1960, black childre n were two to three times more likely to reside without one or both pa rents than were white children. In recent years, however, the race dif ferential in parental absence has grown. Also, blacks have had a consi stently higher percentage of extended households than have whites, but until 1940 this was the result of single parenthood and parentlessnes s among children: Extended households were more common among whites on ce the effects of absent parents were controlled