Towards Improving Surveys of Living Arrangements among Poor African Americans

This paper examines a mismatch between the surveys used to study U.S. household composition and the dynamics of living arrangements prevailing among many low-income African Americans. Mounting survey findings suggest that many low-income African Americans engage in a series of short cohabitations resulting in children with a succession of partners. Ethnographic data suggest these behaviors may be based within a relationship paradigm that needs to be understood on its own terms. Because of the tenuous nature of these relationships, we refer to this paradigm as transient domesticity. An original analysis of partnership and child custody statuses using the 2001 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) presented provides an indication of the extent of transient domesticity among low-income African Americans. Multivariate analysis suggests that transient domesticity or a paradigm that results in similar characteristics is more common among low income and African American adults and not unique to low-income African Americans. Low-income African Americans as compared to higher-income whites and other subpopulations were much less likely to be married, although most of them reported they were single as opposed to cohabiting. The majority (60%) of low-income African American females age 20-44 were single parenting. The discussion presents recommendations for improving the measurement of living arrangements that may provide greater insight into transient domesticity. The discussion also examines possible improvements to our conceptualization of transient domesticity.