This research project combines survey and ethnographic approaches to provide data on a stratified sample of African-American and Euro- American women who head households. It will explore the problems faced by households headed by women and the solutions devised for addressing them; and, examine the extent to which socioeconomic status and race bear on similarities and differences among such households, with respect to such factors as formation and stability, access to income, household composition and network strategies. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches will be utilized. A small sample of households headed by women will be selected for ethnographic study. The sample will be selected through a school, a day care center, and an after - school center, allowing for variation by race and socioeconomic status, but for control of the age range of the children in the household. Results of preliminary ethnographic research will be utilized to construct a survey questionnaire to be administered to a larger and more randomly sampled population.
