ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to develop a model for the scientific study of the causes of matrifocality in low-income groups. It analyzes the matrifocality and subsistence urbanization experienced by large numbers of families living in New York City. The food emergency families also received support from a number of informal sources. These included gifts or loans from husband/fathers, grandparents and other nonresident family members, friends, neighbors, landlords, grocers, and loan sharks. The analysis shows that the adult sex ratio in the food emergency families was very depressed. The analysis shows that because the primary income source of most the families was public assistance, mothers had greater access to income for rent and to emergency shelter when they were homeless. The men’s informal income pursuits were more dangerous than the women’s and much more likely to result in incarceration, injury or death which would remove them from the family living unit.
