*Direct correspondence, including data requests for replication purposes, to Liam Downey, Department of Sociology, University of Colorado, 219 Ketchum Hall, UCB 327, Boulder, CO 80309 〈Liam.Downey@Colorado.Edu〉. We would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments throughout the review process.
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Single-Mother Families and Air Pollution: A National Study†
Article first published online: 1 MAY 2008
DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6237.2008.00545.x
© 2008 by the Southwestern Social Science Association
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How to Cite
Downey, L. and Hawkins, B. (2008), Single-Mother Families and Air Pollution: A National Study. Social Science Quarterly, 89: 523–536. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-6237.2008.00545.x
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Publication History
- Issue published online: 1 MAY 2008
- Article first published online: 1 MAY 2008
- Abstract
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Objective. This study uses tract-level demographic data and toxicity-weighted air pollutant concentration estimates for the continental United States to determine whether (1) single-mother families are overrepresented in environmentally hazardous Census tracts and (2) the percentage of single-mother families in a Census tract is a significant predictor of tract-level toxic concentration estimates.
Methods. After calculating tract-level toxic concentration estimates for the average female-headed family, male-headed family, and married-couple family with and without children, we use fixed-effects regression models to determine whether the percentage of single-mother families in a tract is a significant predictor of tract-level toxic concentration estimates.
Results. Single-mother families are overrepresented in environmentally hazardous Census tracts, and the percentage of single-mother families in a tract remains a significant predictor of estimated toxic concentration levels even after controlling for many of the most commonly used variables in the literature.
Conclusion. Environmental inequality researchers need to broaden their focus beyond race and income to include groups such as single-mother families in their research.